Bolaji Abdullahi is the National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). In this interview with CHIBUIKE CHUKWU, speaks about the ongoing rush to join the coalition opposition party, the failings of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the ADC’s plan ahead of the 2027 general elections, among other issues. Excerpts. Since the coalition ADC came on board, the party has been accepted massively around the country with even some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) reportedly identifying with it. What do you think is the reason for this? Well, I mean there is no other reason other than the fact that Nigerians knew that they didn’t want this APC anymore. They know and feel the hardship and pain the current administration has foisted on them. I mean Nigerians have realised that all these issues are associated with the current APC government but they didn’t find any alternative, you know, because the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been destabilised, more or less dead. You know, all their governors have left and more may still leave them. I don’t see the chance of those who have left going back there at least for now. So the people felt that they had no choice. So when ADC came, it was a pleasant relief to every Nigerian who was and is still tired of the direction that APC was taking the country. So what you see that is happening in the country, I mean the movement to ADC, is an expression of number one, rejection of APC, and two, an opportunity for an alternative. So that is what explains all the rush that we are seeing into the party and I can tell you that it would be ongoing because Nigerians are going through a lot under the present government. Go round the country and the story is the same, as APC has failed to provide a solution to the same problem they created. In the 2023 general election, so many Nigerians believed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not conduct free and fair elections and that the exercise then lacked transparency. Realising that it is the same INEC that would superintend the 2027 election and given the rush into the coalition, what is the party doing to make sure that the votes would count in 2027 and that whoever the electorate choose at the various polling units is who would be declared winner? The biggest challenge that we are going to face is how to get people out to vote. How do we convince people to come out to vote? The only way we can convince people to come out to vote is to assure them that their votes will matter. You get what I’m saying? People look at the last election and they look at their past votes and they tell themselves that no matter what we do, these people will write the results anyway. So it’s a very dangerous situation. And that is why for us, one of the major challenges that we have is to continue to advocate for electoral reform. And that electoral reform has to be anchored on automatic transmission of results from the polling unit. So it’s as simple as that. So you are going to see a lot coming from us on this matter because we know that if this government does not allow a free and transparent election, then we are going to turn the country into a crisis, God forbid. So all of us, all hands have to be on deck because when you read where people know that they didn’t vote for you, it may lead to a serious crisis. So we know from all indications that this government looks like people who don’t know how to play by the rules. We will continue to pressure INEC to respect the constitution and respect the wishes of the people and not allow themselves to serve the agents against the progress of this country. INEC should realise that they have the mandate to serve the interest of this country. There is one pertinent fear among Nigerians regarding individual ambitions and zoning in the coalition ADC. So many Nigerians believe that such issues as where the ADC would zone their presidential ticket may lead to implosion in the party. As a result, is there any mechanism in the party to forestall any crisis emanating from such and that wherever the presidential candidate comes from, everyone would align and support him? The best way for us to handle the issue; I mean the way we are going to handle it is to allow a free and transparent electoral process within our own party. We are not going to ask anybody to withdraw for anybody. We don’t have a pre-determined agenda. We don’t have a preferred candidate. We want to allow members to decide who they want to fly the party’s flag. We know in some political parties, they would or may have a predetermined candidate and everyone would fall into that but ADC is not going to do that. We are going to allow the process to produce the candidate. And that’s why we are not talking about where we will zone the president, where we will not zone the president. Nobody in ADC is having that conversation. Like I said earlier, our internal election will be as transparent as expected and I can assure you that whoever emerges to fly the party’s flag will be the one to be accepted by everyone because it will be clear to all. Not adhering to zoning in 2023 led to PDP’s problem after they failed to zone their ticket to the south. South is going to do four years courtesy of Tinubu. Is it not right for the ADC to zone their ticket to the south to ensure that the zone completes another four years? No, ADC is not having that conversation now, I told you that already. We are a new party. We are focused on building our party. When we get to the bridge, we shall cross it. When we get to the point of deciding what to do regarding presidential candidates, we will do it. We will not be telling anybody now that this is where we will zone our presidential candidacy. Our priority is to build the party. Zoning to any side has nothing to do with the priority we have now. Let’s build the party first, let’s consolidate. Nigerians want to join our party, so we need to create a system that they can trust and believe in. So, that’s what is most important to us now. When we still have time, when we get to the point of deciding how we will deal with this issue you are raising, of course, we can come back and have the conversation. APC has severally said that the coalition is made up of some people who are angry because they did not get any appointments in the present administration. In the light of that, how can you rate this government? What do you make of that kind of narrative? You can’t say that all the people in ADC are angry because they didn’t get an appointment in Tinibu’s government. Did they expect any appointment from Tinubu’s government in the first place? ADC is made up of people from different parties. So, if there are people within his party who had expectations, yes, it’s fine. But there are people who didn’t have any expectations of him. And there are also people who joined him who are angry because they want to arrive at a situation where 99% is more participative, and that’s a legitimate concern for everybody. So, it’s not about a cynical way of interpreting it to say, oh, it’s because he lost out on power or because they are not invited to the table. I mean, are you saying that an 86-year-old man like Chief John Oyegun is angry today because he was not invited to come and eat at the ruling party? That is a wrong narrative they are pushing if they mean what they say. Like I have maintained, Nigerians are going through a lot and the government seems to have no solution but they are working to ensure that the country is in one party. People are identifying with the ADC because they see the need to rescue the country from further slide into hopelessness. What does ADC feel is the major failings of the present government which will form the thrust of their campaign? I mean the party needs to tell Nigerians what they will do differently from the APC government, or put differently, in what areas do you think the present APC government has failed on which the coalition ADC will anchor its campaign to convince Nigerians ahead of the 2027 general elections? You live in Lagos, you know what I’m talking about. Is that not enough reason for a government to throw in the towel and say we can’t do this? Look, they created the problem themselves. When the president came in and said they are removing fuel subsidies, they didn’t give sufficient thought to how it was going to affect the people. We are not talking about the principle of removal of subsidies that we are opposed to. It is that they did not give enough thought to it to say ‘this thing that we are about to do, there is a reason that successive administration has failed in doing it. ‘Have we accounted sufficiently for the fallout that will follow? ‘How are we going to tackle the effect on the people? Then while they are still on this, they devalued the naira, and when you combine these two, you have a disaster in your hands. Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was shocked that Nigeria was willing to go that far in devaluation of the currency. So these are the twin issues that created the current crisis, I mean the immediate crisis for the current catastrophe that Nigeria has found itself. There are also the issues of incompetence that we can mention. So, when you are talking about the essence of the ADC, to start with, ADC has achieved one thing. We have dismantled the culture of silence that they were foisting on this country. That’s number one. Number two, we are providing alternatives to the people. Before ADC came, Nigeria was steadily descending into a one party state. So, the arrival of ADC has arrested that. Number three, when they say we want to rescue Nigeria, they say we want to set Nigeria back, but, if something is at the edge of precipice, if something is at the edge of the precipice, won’t you set it back and reset it? They have pushed the country and the Nigerian people to the edge of the precipice and we are saying that we need to pull back and ask ourselves questions. Nigerians didn’t just find themselves where they have found themselves, it is as a result of the policies that this government has pursued, ask any Nigerian, and I can ask you as well, have we not suffered enough? We are extremely suffering today, we pay 1,000 Naira for a litre of petrol, 1,500, 1,600 for one dollar and you say it is not a problem. Is that the price we need to pay to have a better Nigeria? Has this government told you how long our suffering will continue? Has it told anybody what we will eventually get to the end of suffering? So, what exactly are we paying for? What exactly are we suffering for? They say they have removed the subsidy on fuel. It seems that the money we are using for subsidies is insane. Is that not so? Where is even the money? What are they working for? Where is the money, I ask again? They’ll tell you, oh, they’re giving more money to the states as a result, but it’s not true. What they’re giving to the state is an increased allocation as a result of the devaluation of the Naira. It is an illusion of money. It is illusory because it is the same dollar term, it is the same amount that they’re giving. So, when you convert it to Naira because of the devaluation, you lose a lot of money, so, where is this money? They say they’re developing infrastructure. How has this infrastructure improved the life of the people? We in ADC are saying that if they want to convince us that they’re actually doing the right thing, Nigeria has to be able to walk into a hospital and see drugs, and say, okay, where is this free drug coming from? Then they say, oh, it’s from subsidy. Is that not so? So if we don’t find it, what exactly are we suffering for? That is the question ADC is asking. What are we suffering for? What are Nigerians being punished for in the name of removal of subsidy and devaluation of the naira? And where will the light come from? Is it the light at the end of the tunnel? Where will this light come from? They have less than two years to go. By next year, election will start. By the time elections start next year, that is the end. So, when will we reap the benefits of this suffering? And they’ll say that it’s a gradual step that a good policy will always come with hardship. That is very deceptive of the government. So why should we reward them and give them another four years when we’re not even sure of what they are doing? That will be so bad to have them for another four years given the level of hardship and suffering Nigerians are going through to be honest. That is why Nigerians are trooping into the ADC because they have seen a better alternative to the APC. How do you look at the tax reform bill? At least some people have commended the government for coming up with the bill. For coming up with the tax reform bill. I mean, nobody is criticising them for it. Tax reform is necessary and it is a good thing. But it is not the tax reform that matters. It is how the increased inflation of tax will translate to improved quality of life for the people. More money for government means nothing if it does not improve the life of the people. That is the bottom line. You know also, what does tax reform do to ordinary man on the street? How does tax reform help a woman in Oshodi that is struggling to feed her children? A single child earning 35,000 Naira, what does that mean to her? 35,000 Naira today is barely more than 3,000 Naira. Money is what money can buy. Before we present tax reform here, what does it translate to? What does it mean? As a former sports minister, are you comfortable with scrapping the sports ministry and replacing it completely with the National Sports Commission? Well, it has its own merits. It allows for flexibility. It allows for greater continuity. One of the challenges we have in sports is the turnover of sports ministers over the years. I spent like three years and I am one of the longest serving ministers of sports. That is not good enough. For example, if we start today to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, I mean you can’t really prepare for an Olympic in four years. You probably need eight years to prepare athletes for the Olympics. So when you have ministers that don’t spend up to two years, then you can’t really put any plan together. So when you have a sports commission with a director general that has tenure that can be renewed over eight years, it means that he can actually make a plan and execute it. That is the merit of it. The demerit is that the director general of the National Sports Commission or the chairman of the National Sports Commission is not a cabinet member. So sports does not have a seat in the Federal Executive Council. So that’s the drawback of it. But the question is whether the advantages or the merit is more.