2027 Polls: There’s No Design To Have Only APC On Ballot – Dare

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, has denied allegations by opposition parties that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is working to ensure it will be the only viable party on the ballot in the 2027 general election.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Dare said there is no plan, covert or overt, to restrict the ballot to the APC.

“There is no design whether covertly or overtly to have just the APC on the ballot. We have 21 parties registered to compete on the ballot; every party has the right to field a candidate. Now the APC will not roll out the carpet and close shop because other parties are struggling,” Dare said.

The rebuttal by Dare comes a day after the spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Bolaji Abdullahi, accused the APC of instigating crises within opposition parties to avoid being challenged in the 2027 elections.

Abdullahi, who was also on Politics Today, claimed that President Tinubu and the APC were seeking to make Nigeria a one-party state and vowed that the ADC would resist such a development.

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According to him, President Tinubu is aware of his unpopularity, and the ruling party’s internal polls have allegedly pushed it into panic mode.

However, Dare dismissed claims that the APC is shrinking democratic space. He noted that the ADC’s ability to approach the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with a protest freely is evidence of political freedom in the country.

The presidential aide stressed that the APC and President Tinubu are not afraid of the opposition, noting that the president has focused on national governance while the party manages political matters.

Dare insisted that the ruling party has no role in the challenges facing opposition parties, describing the situation within the ADC as self-inflicted.

“What you are seeing here is self-inflicted. You decide to come in through the backdoor, you decide to ignore the fact that there are petitions and court cases.

“You decide to think that because you are in the opposition and you can shout very loud… what has happened to the ADC in the last several months is a locus classicus of how not to run an opposition, how not to hijack a political party, and how not to run a party,” he said.

Dare added that rather than blaming the ruling party or the president, the ADC should take their grievances to court and prove their case.