As Nigeria’s political landscape begins to shift ahead of the 2027 general elections, former political adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has voiced deep scepticism about the newly formed opposition coalition, the All-Democratic Alliance (ADA).

While the coalition aims to present a strong alternative to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Baba-Ahmed noted that its current leadership may not offer a better path forward.

Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Baba-Ahmed said, “The people who are leading the attempts to create an alternative to APC, I’m not sure that they’re any better than APC itself. And that is what is the big disappointment. And the challenge is they don’t have the time to fix all these gaps that they have, and they’re not willing to think outside the box and create a real, genuine alternative. What they are doing is just simply handing over 2027 to President Tinubu.”

He distanced himself from the coalition, noting that he is not involved in any aspect of its formation. Instead, he said he is observing from the sidelines — and with growing concern.

“I’m just an observer who is watching with a lot of worry that an opportunity to create a strong opposition to the ruling party is being messed up by people who insist that they have to be the face of that opposition,” he said.

According to Baba-Ahmed, the coalition is driven more by the ambitions of political heavyweights than by a genuine desire for national transformation. He criticised its leadership for putting themselves forward rather than working behind the scenes to support a new generation of leaders with fresh ideas and public trust.

He also warned that the public can see through the recycled faces and are unlikely to believe that those who have served in high office before — as vice presidents, governors, or ministers — are capable of bringing about meaningful change. What Nigerians need, he said, is a generational and ideological shift.

“The most important thing they’re doing wrong is putting themselves forward. It’s a coalition of a few politicians who hope that they can arrive at some understanding and then open the door and say, ‘ok, fellow Nigerians, we’ve agreed. This one will be this, and this one will be that, and you can now come in.’ It’s the wrong way about it. None of these people should lead or be seen in a position where they’re determining who should be in that coalition. They can work behind the scenes. What they need is a generational shift and a political shift away from who they are, what they’ve done, what they want to do, to a different set of Nigerians who can give Nigerians hope.

“These are not the people who are saying, give us trust. Trust us again to solve the problems that the APC is creating. This is the wrong thing. And it’s very difficult to convince politicians that Nigerians can see through you. They don’t have faith that you actually represent a future, a different future from this government.
You just want to replace President Tinubu.”

Baba-Ahmed also questioned the feasibility of forming a new party in time for 2027, citing procedural hurdles at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He noted that INEC has not registered any new political party in a long time and is currently overwhelmed with pending applications.

“Unless a miracle happens, they forgot there are huge numbers of applications before INEC, and INEC hasn’t registered any party for a long time.”

He added that trying to register an entirely new party to provide a level playing field for all stakeholders would be difficult and potentially time-consuming. An alternative path, he suggested, could involve INEC registering multiple parties simultaneously to avoid accusations of favouritism — though that, too, would be fraught with challenges.

Melissa Enoch

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