Former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of deliberately frustrating opposition political parties in their efforts to form a strong coalition against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Amaechi, who is also a former Minister of Transport and a member of the opposition coalition under the African Democratic Party (ADC), made the allegation on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.
“Every member of the opposition who belongs to the coalition is a member of the ADC. Are we stopping at that? The answer is no. I head a committee with the mandate of the coalition to pursue the registration of the ADA (All Democratic Alliance),” Amaechi said.
“Now, if INEC had registered ADA, we would probably not have bothered about going to the ADC. The political space is closed for the benefit of the APC. I come to say that the INEC chairman is not ashamed,” he added.
Amaechi also claimed that INEC was deliberately delaying the registration of new opposition political parties.
“In fact, what is holding the ADA for now is that we have yet to bring the address of our offices and the officers of the party that will submit in the next meeting. I don’t want to call the other parties that had gone ahead with the registration, and INEC just ignored it completely,” he said.
“Some of them, their rents have expired. So, the chairman of INEC is deliberately doing that so that there will be nobody fighting the APC. And they’re not even ashamed that after (Maurice) Iwu, they organised the worst election; I would be ashamed,” Amaechi stated.
He, however, said that the ADC would mobilise Nigerians to vote and prevent electoral malpractice.
“And with the way things are going, what ADC will do — and I said that all of us would do that — is to mobilise Nigerians to rise, to vote, and to stop these people from rigging, including the INEC, because those who constitute this rigging machine are not up to 10, in fact, two per cent of the population, the rest 98 per cent must get up and stop them, because if not, you’ll start crying again,” he said.
Opposition Coalition
There has been increased momentum surrounding the emergence of an opposition coalition aimed at unseating President Bola Tinubu and the APC in the 2027 general elections.
On Tuesday, the opposition coalition adopted the ADC as its platform to challenge the APC in the polls.
The coalition appointed former Senate President David Mark, who recently resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as its interim national chairman, while former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola was named interim national secretary.
Other key figures in the coalition include the 2023 presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar; Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi; and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai.
Speaking at the unveiling of the ADC, David Mark urged Nigerians to join the coalition, stating that its primary goal is to rescue and rebuild the nation’s democracy.
He said, “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.”
However, President Tinubu, during a presidential state visit to Nasarawa State on June 25, dismissed the opposition coalition, describing its members as politically displaced individuals.
The APC has also stated that any coalition formed against Tinubu will not succeed.
Do you have a story to share? Want to advertise with us? Or perhaps you need publicity for a product, service, or event?
Contact us:WhatsApp: +2348165713606 Email: nationalreports001@gmail.com
We'd love to hear from you!"
