…Warns against old faces leading opposition
Former Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu and northern elder statesman, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has voiced strong skepticism about the chances of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA) being registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during a televised interview on Monday, Baba-Ahmed described the process of registering a new political party as extremely challenging, warning that unless a “miracle” occurs, ADA’s application could be “dead on arrival”.
“There are a huge number of pending applications before INEC. The Commission has not registered any new party in a long time. It would put itself in a very difficult situation if it appears to favour one group simply because it includes prominent politicians”, he said.
The ADA is being proposed by the Nigerian National Coalition Group (NNCG), a broad anti-Tinubu movement reportedly backed by influential figures like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-governors Rotimi Amaechi and Nasir el-Rufa’i, and Dr. Umar Ardo. Their official request for party registration was submitted on June 19 and stamped received by INEC on June 20. The application was signed by the group’s Protem National Chairman, Chief Akin A. Ricketts.
Baba-Ahmed, while acknowledging the coalition’s intent to create a fresh political platform where all actors feel like “shareholders,” said the political and legal hurdles involved in forming a new party were considerable. He advised that if INEC must approve new parties, it should register several at once to avoid accusations of bias.
Beyond procedural concerns, Baba-Ahmed criticized the composition and leadership of the coalition itself. He argued that the same set of political elites—former vice presidents, governors, and ministers—should not be at the forefront of any new political movement.
“These six or seven familiar faces should not be the ones leading the challenge against the APC,” he stated. “They can play supporting roles behind the scenes, but Nigerians are hungry for a generational and political shift. We need new leaders who represent hope, not recycled ambitions.”
Baba-Ahmed, who also served as a former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum, rejected claims that the coalition is a northern agenda designed to unseat President Tinubu, a Southerner. He stressed that the initiative is multi-regional, with southern figures like Rotimi Amaechi and Ra’uf Aregbesola actively involved.
“There are Southerners in this coalition. They love the South too and don’t want to be second to the North,” he said, adding that coalitions are a normal feature of Nigerian politics and not inherently ethnic.
Referring to past political alignments, he noted, “We formed the APC through a coalition between Tinubu’s AD and Buhari’s CPC. Coalition-building is not new; it’s not about where you’re from but the leadership you can offer.”.
