Former lawmaker and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Adamu Garba, has expressed concern over the way Northerners are leaving the ruling party to join the newly launched coalition, African Democratic Congress.

In a statement on X on Thursday, Mr Garba said members are also leaving the Peoples Democratic Party in droves, emphasising the need for APC members to reaffirm their commitment to the ruling party.

“The rate at which members of PDP and APC are resigning to join the ADC in the north is alarming,” Mr Garba said. “I think it is high time we, the members of APC, start writing our affirmation letters confirming our unwavering commitment to the membership of our party.”

Mr Garba’s concern over the wave of defections to ADC was suggestive of the possibility of a coalition to pose a challenge to the ruling party in the 2027 presidential election.

Miffed by the way the APC-led government has run the country, key opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-governors Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir El-Rufai, Rauf Aregbesola, and others, have formally announced the adoption of ADC as the platform to contest in 2027, vowing to unseat President Bola Tinubu.

However, presidential spokesperson Daniel Bwala dismissed any threat from the ADC, saying the coalition had been unable to present alternative policies that could convince Nigerians to vote for them.

On Monday, the ADC raised the alarm over a desperate and dangerous plot by elements within the Tinubu administration to undermine and destabilise the growing opposition coalition.

However, APC declared that there was no vacancy in Aso Rock, the seat of power, until 2031 and that the North remained solidly behind President Bola Tinubu to stay in office for another four years.

Mr Abubakar, on Wednesday, said Mr Tinubu’s government was desperate ahead of the 2027 election and was afraid of the ADC coalition.