A former governor of Osun State and interim national secretary of the African Democratic Congress Coalition, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has expressed optimism that the party would defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress in the next general elections.

To this end, the former governor called on party members to work together to achieve success in the subsequent elections.

Aregbesola stated this while addressing members of the party in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday.

The ex-minister for Interior stressed the need for party members to put aside their personal interests and differences and work towards a common goal of taking over power from the ruling APC.

He said, “Let us work together, let us put personal interest aside, and let’s get united. It is that unity we want. We should remember that we have many elections ahead; we have the presidential, we have the National Assembly, and we have the state assembly elections. We still have time, but with a big task. If we unite, we won’t be defeated in the elections. Unity is paramount in this situation.”

According to him, the ADC has garnered significant support from prominent members of the opposition parties, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President David Mark, and former presidential candidate of the Labour Party Mr. Peter Obi, among others who have thrown their weight behind the party as a coalition movement platform aimed at challenging President Bola Tinubu in the next election.

Also speaking, the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party in the November Ondo State governorship election, Mr Gbenga Oedema, said the essence of the meeting was for Aregbesola to brief members of ADC on the state of affairs of the coalition.

“Less than two weeks ago, the coalition decided to adopt the ADC, African Democratic Congress, as the party for which we are going to manage our affairs as a political party. So ever since then, we have not had the opportunity or the privilege of somebody at the level of national to brief us, and you see that when he came, he gave us a lot of insights.

“Even the court cases that people have been hyping, he spoke about it, and he made it clear that such court cases have no effect on our activities. It’s only a stop in a teacup, which the opposition or the party in government is trying to hype as if it’s of no use. So he has briefed us about a lot of issues that we should respect,” he said.

A former chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Akin Akinbobola, said the coalition was on the right path, lamenting that Nigeria was sinking and there was a need to quickly salvage her from sinking.

“Our leader has spoken to us on the need for people of progressive minds, people of like minds, to come together and rescue this country from the titanic situation that we have found ourselves in. Nigeria is sinking, and we need to salvage Nigeria from sinking. The hardship, the hunger in the land, the insecurity, and the collapse of almost every sector are based on a lack of good security, a lack of good infrastructure, and a lack of openness in governance.

“There’s a need for people who want the progress and the development of this nation to come together. That’s what the coalition is offering, using the ADC as the vehicle to actualise that,” he added.