FORMER Vice President Atiku Abubakar has officially joined the coalition party, the African Democratic Party (ADC), just 17 months to the 2027 general elections.
News Point Nigeria reports that the 78-year-old politician disclosed this in a short post on his official X handle on Monday, attaching pictures of him holding the party’s membership card with the brief caption, “It’s official.”
Prior to him joining the coalition, the former VP had been a high-profile member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He, however, resigned from the opposition party on July 16, citing irreconcilable differences that have emerged within the former ruling party.
Atiku explained that he found it necessary to part ways due to the current trajectory the party has taken, which, according to him, diverges from the foundational principles it stood for.
Though Atiku, in July, led the adoption of the ADC as the coalition platform for opposition figures to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027, he and other prominent opposition figures, such as Peter Obi and Babachir Lawal, had delayed their formal registration with the party.
Atiku and some other coalition leaders were conspicuously absent at the unveiling of the ADC National Secretariat in the Wuse area of Abuja.
Their absence had fuelled speculation, suggesting the unseriousness of the coalition leaders to sack the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the next general elections.
The opposition coalition officially adopted the ADC as its political platform on July 2, 2025, to contest the presidential and other elections in 2027.
The coalition said it was set to rescue the country from collapse and rebuild its democracy.
“Let it be known to all that this coalition of national political opposition groups goes beyond gaining political power. It is a concerted effort to rebuild the crumbling pillars of Nigeria’s democracy.
“The mission is clear: Rescue Nigeria. Rebuild Nigeria. Return power to the people,” said ADC Chairman and ex-Senate President, David Mark.
The former leader of the Senate alleged that the Federal Government led by the All Progressives Congress (APC) had hijacked all democratic institutions, and sent the country on a “creeping descent into total civilian dictatorship” in the last two years.
Mark also said the current government was “consumed with politicking” and had abandoned governance.