Flowerbud News/ The Social Advancement Forum SAF has said that there is no basis for comparison between the so-called African Democratic Congress coalition and the merger that birthed the All Progressives Congress (APC).

This, according to it, is because the personalities behind the APC merger were strong politicians with resilient party structures behind them.

In a statement signed by its Chairman Ibrahim Tahir, the group argued that the wobbling ADC ‘coalition’ is a gathering of individuals without full control of any political party structure but mere busybodies clutching and punching air.

“For us, the so-called 2025 coalition talks are so much farther apart from the 2013 merger movement that birthed the ruling APC.

“In APC’s case, it had two formidable leaders who were forging a partnership that had long been in the works. Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the leader and partner of the movement, and Muhammadu Buhari was the anointed flagbearer and partner of the movement.

Both men were seen as totally in control of the two legacy parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Political Change (CPC)

“We are aware that even when some elements joined the merger process to hijack it at the primary stage, the partnership had a firm grip on the proceedings, and Muhammadu Buhari was unveiled.

“There is also the Buhari persona who, had a traditional 12 million votes from a cult-like followership in the north, was a formidable candidate that needed further support to succeed, while the other leader, Tinubu, made sure this success came to fruition by providing the spread and cohesion that Buhari’s presidential bid had lacked.

“Today, we do not have another Muhammadu Buhari in Nigeria’s politics to sway voters massively. We also do not have another cooperative ally who is willing to sacrifice his ambition like Tinubu did”.

The group insisted that the ADC ‘coalition’ does not have the same clout as the APC when it emerged.

“The present coalition does not share the solidity of political robustness and camaraderie that existed between stakeholders of the 2015 merger.

“This coalition is filled with mutual suspicion and several vaulting ambitions. No one wants to support and relinquish leadership to another because they all want to be president.

They consist of persons from the immediate past administration, and the populace can easily see behind the facade of their movements. People in the present-day government are not jumping ship and joining the gang-up.

“For us, the coalition is building its foundation on thin air, grabbing a party and annexing its offices and positions illegally. This is so because the entire leadership of the ADC from all the states of the federation have taken them to court for the illegal and wrongful bid to take over their party from persons who are unknown to the ADC, and whose tenures as leaders have expired,” it added.

The group urged Nigerians to be wary of the attempt by the major stakeholders to present themselves as a viable option to the incumbent administration.