The former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, has stated that the emergence of a new opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is a welcome development for Nigeria’s democracy, as it addresses the absence of a strong opposition. Peterside made this known on Thursday during an interview with ARISE News.
He warned that personal ambition, lack of clear messaging from ADC, and unresolved electoral flaws could threaten its success ahead of the 2027 elections. According to him, whether the ADC coalition succeeds in forming the next government is secondary to the fact that its existence could compel the current administration to be more responsive to the needs of Nigerians.
Peterside also warned against interpreting the coalition as merely a gathering of political grievances, noting that the coalition was still in its early days.
He said, “A strong opposition is good for the country. The answer is in the affirmative. The second question is: Did we have a good or formidable opposition platform before now? The answer is negative. And so to that extent, the emergence of the ADC is a welcome development. “Any government in power is most likely going to be more sensitive if you have an organised and formidable opposition. And being sensitive means it will be more beneficial to the Nigerian people.
“ADC in 2013, 2014, and 2015 was a coalition. And so we now have another coalition, the ADC coalition. If you put both of them side by side, are we saying it was exclusion, anger, not being part of the table that fuelled the movement in 2013, 2015? Or was it some desire to change the country? I think they’re similar.
“Nobody has done an empirical study lately, and it’s less than a month since they formally presented the party. Nigerians are optimistic that there’s going to be a formidable opposition, and they’ve yearned for it over time.
“The ADC has not come out with its message. Nigerian political parties are not ideologically rooted. The public would like to see the ideology, the principles behind the party, and how they intend to tackle our multidimensional economic, social, and political problems. They must distinguish themselves.
“For today, they’ve not been able to distinguish themselves yet. Nigerians must be presented with an option. Right now, what we’re seeing is one coalition called APC, another coalition called ADC—battle of the coalitions.”