ADC formidable but has strange bedfellows – Chekwas Okorie

• Predicts APC will lose NASS majority before December

By Omoniyi Salaudeen

The unveiling of the African Democratic Congress (APC) as a platform for the coalition group is now a talking point in the political arena. In this interview, Chief Chekwas Okorie examines the prospect and challenges of the new alliance, predicting a tough battle for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

Your reaction to the unveiling of ADC as the coalition platform shows some excitement. What made you to be so excited?

In the first place, I knew as a longstanding politician that the claim by the APC that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock was an arrogant claim and was coming too early in the day. When people were decamping to APC they further claimed that Nigeria would be better off in a one-party state by what they were going to provide. And so, I knew there was no claim for such boasting and that there was going to be a realignment of political forces. I knew for sure that many people who worked so hard to make President Tinubu win presidency but were left out would look elsewhere to do two things: to get back to power and to pay him in his own coin. And I said back then that Nigeria was going to experience a realignment of political forces. I did say that as some people were moving into APC, some people would be moving out of APC. And that is what has happened. So, I feel happy that I read the handwriting clearly and understood it. So many things have happened to make things more rapid. One was early endorsement of President Tinubu which I also criticized for the activation of politics of 2027 well ahead of INEC’s timetable for such activities.

How then do you strike a balance between the much-touted mission by the coalition forces to rescue Nigerians from bad governance and individuals’ self-preservation instinct as you have rightly observed?

You don’t expect people forming an alliance to give that kind of reason. They will de-market themselves from the word go. Saying that they are going to do better than the President and the APC government is expected. That is what opposition does all the time. That was APC also did before coming to power. There is something Dr Nnamdi Azikwe said repeatedly in his life time: there is no permanent enemy or permanent friend in politics. What is permanent is interest. If you like, call it selfish interest, interest remains interest. It was for personal interest that some people came together to form the APC. That is why those who felt that their interests for forming APC were not being served have decided to come together to pursue those interests. Let me tell you at this point that this coalition is the most formidable coalition in Nigeria since independence. I am not a member of the coalition. No coalition has been this formidable. But the challenge is the conglomeration of strange bedfellows most of whom are very powerful in their own ways. To manage such persons is not going to be easy. I wish the new leaders who have been appointed to manage the party will be able to keep the coalition. They will require political savvy to be able to hold these strange bedfellows together for a common purpose. If they are able to manage, it will come back to what I had earlier predicted that 2027 will be an epic battle. It is not something anybody can sit back and say it is a done deal. I have listened to some people in the presidency trying to make the coalition look so little. They are the ones misleading the President. This ADC I have seen cuts across the country. The entire Southeast PDP made good their threat to review their membership of the party if their chosen National Secretary was not given. Peter Obi whom many people, including myself, thought he would fly the presidential flag on a platform where he would be a sole candidate as he did in LP, has joined the coalition with all his supporters including those who have been elected into various offices. More than 12 immediate past ministers under the Buhari administration are in this ADC. It is a Nigerian thing. The only challenge is how to manage the complex conglomeration of strange bedfellows.

There is already a crack in the party. The 2023 presidential candidate has come out to challenge the takeover of the party by the coalition. Isn’t that a sign of a troubled future?

I consider him a rabble-rouser. Being a presidential candidate of the party does not in any way make you a member of any of the organs of the party. Presidential candidate does not belong to the National Working Committee, National Executive Committee or Board of Trustees. I have listened to him. He said he went to court in 2022 to challenge the leadership of Ralph Nwosu. Three years after, he did nothing to make INEC to obey the judgment of the court. He can either return to court or move to another party. I don’t see the coalition entering the ADC through the back door. This ADC I see is on a safe ground and strong footing. What he is saying is just rabble-rousing. Even if they hijacked the party, those who hijacked it are too powerful for him to handle. If he says they are all old people, how many of them are older than our current president or some of the top people who are in APC today? Why can’t he mobilise all the young people into the party?

In your earlier interview, you predicted that the 2027 would be a three-horse race involving Tinubu, Atiku and Peter Obi. Do you think that ADC will better serve Obi’s presidential ambition?

Well, Obi surprised so many people. That is where I can say I got my prediction wrong in a way. All I have been saying until a week ago is that he was going to run for presidency. Suddenly, he became part of what happened on Wednesday. But he quickly went to his X-handle to declare that his decision to make sacrifice to join others to secure Nigeria was not an easy one. In other words, it was a late decision to drop the idea of being a sole candidate for any party. It could be a way of avoiding running seven times like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and four times like Buhari or wait for 30 years like Tinubu said he waited for 30 years to become president. I am sure he can’t go into the alliance without an MOU. As an experienced negotiator, I can tell you he will run as a presidential candidate but he will not win the delegate election on a platter of gold because of the same factor that did not let Alex Ekwueme win a delegate election. He will come second and they will compensate him with the position of running mate. He has been a running mate to Atiku before. That will be his second chance. He has said that he will run for a single term if elected as President. Atiku has said the same thing. If at the end of the day the two of them come together, they will be expected to run for one term. It’s a tactical move. I won’t be surprised if he ends up being Atiku’s running mate. And it is going to be a very powerful combination. And let me tell you this, before the end of the year, the balance of forces in the National Assembly will change to the extent that APC will no longer be able to boast of having the majority any longer. The era of rubber stamp will not exceed December of this year. So, it’s going to be tough in the National Assembly. People are going to move to different parties following their leaders. Nigerians should expect that.