Coalition: Northern ADC warns against using PDP as platform

The northern chapter of African Democratic Congress (ADC), yesterday, warned against the adoption of the name of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as platform on which the memorandum of understanding was signed by various political parties. This came in the wake of another move by 20 political parties that met in Abuja on Tuesday and countered the coalition the PDP formed with 38 political parties. The caution by the northern chapter of the ADC was contained in a statement issued after the meeting of leaders of the party from the three geo-political zones in the North.

The statement, signed by ADC chairman in Sokoto State, Alhaji Malami Sarki Galma, said they supported the coalition but had reservations with the adoption of PDP’s name as the platform for seeking political offices by the various political parties.

“We are advising all the political parties that have signed the memorandum to field the presidential candidate under the platform of ADC,” the statement said.

Tuesday’s meeting by a group of 20 political parties saw them paying allegiance to the APC and the reelection bid of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The parties included the Accord Party, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM), United Progressive Party (UPP), Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance (APDA), Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Freedom Justice Party (FJP), Fresh Party (FP), New Nigeria’s Peoples Party (NNPP), Nigeria’s Peoples Congress (NPC), Nigeria Peoples Movement (NPM), Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), National Action Congress (NAC) and NDLP.

The chairman of the coalition, who is also the National chairman of PDM, Alhaji Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim, said at the meeting at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja that the coalition was made up of likeminded political parties who believed in Nigeria’s unity and stability.

Our correspondents report that in the last few days, the political atmosphere was chocked up with coalitions throwing names of political parties as their allies, with leaders of such parties disclaiming them.

So far, the ruling APC and the leading opposition PDP have “swallowed” almost all the remaining 66 political parties registered by INEC.

“I’m really confused with all these things happening, I don’t even know which is which…I really want to know what do our politicians want to achieve by confusing us with all these politics,” said Umar Sanda, a PDP Youth Leader in Borno State.