By John Ogunsemore
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said All Democratic Alliance (ADA), a new party seeking registration, is not a coalition against President Bola Tinubu as widely speculated.
Keyamo stated this in an X post on Friday.
He was reacting to reports that the Nigeria National Coalition Group (NNCG) has officially written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) seeking the registration of a new political party to be known as All Democratic Alliance (ADA).
The application letter, dated Thursday, June 19 and signed by the association’s Protem National Chairman, Chief Akin A. Rickets, was stamped received by INEC on Friday, June 20.
The NNCG boasts of some prominent opposition figures in its fold, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; ex-Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi and his Kaduna counterpart, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
Reacting to the development, Keyamo said ADA is simply a new party seeking registration.
He noted that describing it as a coalition or merger of opposition parties against President Tinubu is a psychological warfare on Nigerians.
He said, “This is just a simple application for party registration. There is nothing like a ‘coalition’ here.
“It is an unnecessary hype the promoters have been struggling to create all along; it is just a psychological warfare on Nigerians – a weak attempt at mass appeal.
“No recognised existing political party or parties are part of this. If they are thinking of recreating what the APC did in 2013, then this is nothing but a pedestrian joke; a complete mockery of that seismic political coalition that birthed APC in 2013.
“A few individuals exercising their constitutional right to form a new political party cannot be described as a ‘coalition’ or even a ‘merger’. This is not different from several political associations springing up everyday for the same purpose.
“After all the razzmatazz, it boils down to the fact that a new political party is just attempting registration by a few Nigerians; it is a disappointing anti-climax to all the preceding pomp and pageantry.”