The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said that the movement of the so-called “coalition” into the African Democratic Congress (ADC) earlier today is the greatest factor that has strengthened the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Keyamo, in a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday, explained that by law, individuals cannot operate from or belong to multiple political parties simultaneously, describing the open declaration for ADC as a “clear abandonment” of their previous parties.
“In fact, belonging to two political parties is a ground for disqualification in an election,” Keyamo stated.
According to him, the emergence of the ADC in its current form signifies the “formal dismemberment of the PDP,” which he described as hitherto Nigeria’s strongest opposition party.
He said many of the old guards in the PDP who have lost control of the party have been displaced by the younger generation within the PDP.
“That is why the gathering today was a conglomerate of ‘former this’ and ‘former that’ of the PDP. No matter how you look at it, this is just Atiku’s faction of PDP in desperate search for the 2027 Presidential ticket – nothing more, nothing less,” Keyamo wrote.
The minister added that the “coalition” also includes a few APC members who worked against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the last election and others who lost their constituencies in 2023, insisting that their defection takes nothing away from the ruling party.
“It is actually better for the APC because it is just a case of totally extracting the germ that was eating the kola nut from within,” he said.
Keyamo also argued that the “old, cunning guards” in the PDP want to use the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, for votes without giving him the presidential ticket, claiming the coalition is “Atiku’s show simpliciter.”
“If you do not give Peter Obi the presidential ticket, you lose his supporters. It is as simple as that. And how can you make someone who won two regions in the last election (South-East and South-South) a running mate to the person who won only one region (North-East)?” Keyamo questioned.
He concluded that when the dust settles, the PDP and the Labour Party would have lost something, the ADC would have gained “something like a caricature,” while the APC would have lost “absolutely nothing.”
“Since the 2023 elections, the APC have become stronger, whilst the opposition parties have fragmented and become weaker,” Keyamo asserted.
“Those who have defected to the APC since 2023 – the governors, senators, honourable members – put side-by-side with the small handful who have left the APC, who would you rather have in your ranks? That is where lies the key to the whole analyses,” he noted.
The minister urged the public to allow the opposition exercise their constitutional right to associate and assemble while the government focuses on governance.
