{"id":8193,"date":"2025-07-13T18:09:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T18:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/?p=8193"},"modified":"2025-07-13T18:09:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T18:09:16","slug":"gbajabiamila-welcomes-opposition-coalition-questions-its-future-as-adc-defends-atiku-obi-memberships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/13\/gbajabiamila-welcomes-opposition-coalition-questions-its-future-as-adc-defends-atiku-obi-memberships\/","title":{"rendered":"Gbajabiamila Welcomes Opposition Coalition, Questions Its Future as ADC Defends Atiku, Obi Memberships"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu<\/strong>, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila<\/strong>, has described the growing opposition coalition as a positive sign for Nigeria’s democracy but cast doubts on its sustainability and political impact ahead of the 2027 general elections.<\/p>\n

Gbajabiamila made the comments on Saturday after casting his vote in the Lagos State local government elections at Polling Unit 014, Elizabeth Fowler Memorial High School, Surulere.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a welcome development. In every democracy, we need some level of opposition to avoid becoming a one-party state. But I\u2019m not sure where this coalition will go,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While he emphasized the importance of credible opposition in a healthy democracy, Gbajabiamila cautioned that the coalition\u2019s structure might lack the durability needed to challenge the ruling party effectively.<\/p>\n

ADC Explains Why Atiku, Obi Haven\u2019t Resigned<\/h3>\n

Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC)<\/strong> \u2014 adopted as the platform for the opposition coalition \u2014 has defended the continued membership of prominent figures like Atiku Abubakar<\/strong> and Peter Obi<\/strong> in their original parties, PDP<\/strong> and Labour Party<\/strong>, respectively.<\/p>\n

Speaking to THISDAY<\/em>, ADC Interim National Publicity Secretary Malam Bolaji Abdullahi<\/strong> explained that both leaders are strategically remaining in their parties until after off-season elections<\/strong> are concluded.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThey have supporters contesting elections under their current parties. Leaving now could destabilize those campaigns,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Abdullahi clarified that the affected figures will resign at the appropriate time and are currently working to support their base until a full transition becomes feasible.<\/p>\n

PDP\u2019s Former Legal Adviser Condemns Coalition Strategy<\/h3>\n

In a sharp rebuttal, Jacob Mark<\/strong>, a former legal adviser of the PDP, dismissed the coalition as \u201cpolitical window shopping,\u201d arguing that party leaders like Atiku cannot legally or ethically operate within two political parties.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYou must belong to one party. You cannot claim PDP and ADC at the same time,\u201d Mark asserted during an interview on ARISE NEWS<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He stressed that a legitimate political coalition must be between organized parties\u2014not individuals straddling affiliations for personal advantage.<\/p>\n

Mark went further, blaming PDP’s leadership for weakening party discipline, which he claims has encouraged defection and anti-party behavior without repercussions.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIn our time, you dared not switch parties casually. Today, people leave and return without consequence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Gbajabiamila on Voter Turnout and Election Conduct<\/h3>\n

Gbajabiamila also expressed disappointment at the low voter turnout during the local government polls in Lagos, despite noting that the election process itself was peaceful and transparent.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that people don\u2019t understand the importance of local government elections, which directly impact them the most,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He urged for greater voter education and civic engagement, particularly at the grassroots level, to strengthen democratic participation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has described the growing opposition coalition as a positive sign for Nigeria’s democracy but cast doubts on its sustainability and political impact ahead of the 2027 general elections. Gbajabiamila made the comments on Saturday after casting his vote in the Lagos State local government elections […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Gbajabiamila supports opposition coalition but questions longevity as ADC defends Atiku, Obi; PDP lawyer slams dual membership.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8193"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8196,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8193\/revisions\/8196"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}