From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has vowed that President Bola Tinubu would be sent back to Lagos State while his Minister, Bosun Tijani, who, according to him, is doing a great job, would be retained in the next administration.

The controversial former governor of Kaduna State spoke at a tech event in Katsina, attended by the Minister of Digital Economy.

“Yesterday at 8 pm, there was a very important meeting of the coalition. We are talking together to ensure that President Tinubu goes back to Lagos. Though we will keep Bosun Tijani. We still need the minister because he is doing good work.”

The meeting El-Rufai referenced was attended by Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal and many others.

Bloomberg has quoted sources in the meeting of the coalition, which was held on May 20 in Abuja, about the consensus in adopting the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the vehicle for the coalition, just as another online news platform, Daily Post, quoted sources who said the gladiators agreed to adopt the party.

Atiku, Obi and others have reportedly agreed to adopt the ADC after a meeting on Tuesday night. But ADC has said that it was awaiting a briefing from its coalition committee on talks.

The ADC National Chairman, Chief Okey Nwosu, who confirmed to Daily Sun, yesterday, that the party was talking with Atiku, Obi and other key opposition leaders and political parties on the possibility of a coalition for the 2027 general election, said the picture would become clear in a matter of days.

“ADC has always been a coalition party. It came to the fore when President Olusegun Obasanjo told all the civil society organizations that were working with him for a new Nigeria that ADC is the transformational party. That was in 2018. If this year, some patriots are also talking with the ADC, it is in the character of the party. The character of the party is working with deeply patriotic Nigerians to save the country.

“So, we are having conversations with almost all the opposition leaders. We are having conversations with all the political parties. By the Grace of God, in a matter of days, we should know our fate. The same thing  we are doing, other political parties are also doing.  But we would like to form a coalition of opposition leaders, political parties, and civil society, so that the citizens can come up with ways to take their country back.

“I am not part of the coalition team in ADC. We have two coalition teams. One led by Dr. Bamidele Ajadi. The other coalition team is led by Dr Mani Ibrahim Ahmad.. They will give us a report some time tomorrow how things are going, “ he stated.