The African Democratic Congress has said the absence of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, from the G100 opposition summit will not undermine negotiations on cooperation among political parties ahead of the 2027 election.
ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi said the summit was designed primarily as a discussion among political parties rather than a direct negotiation among presidential candidates.
He said the ADC was fully represented by senior party officials and participated actively in the process.
Abdullahi maintained that the party did not regard the emergence of a single opposition presidential candidate as a condition for cooperation.
He said the ADC believed it could compete against President Bola Tinubu independently but considered broader coordination capable of making the electoral contest easier.
The spokesman identified policy differences as one of the issues that could complicate a wider alliance.
He pointed specifically to fuel subsidy, saying the ADC supported restoring a targeted form of subsidy while other opposition figures had taken different positions.
According to Abdullahi, any coalition would eventually need to reconcile major differences over economic policy rather than focus only on electoral arithmetic.
He said common policy positions could themselves become the basis for cooperation among parties and candidates.
The remarks suggest that the G100 process will have to address ideological and programme differences alongside questions of candidate selection and campaign structure.
Opposition parties have already agreed to establish committees and working groups to develop a framework for continued negotiations.
