The National Opposition Coalition Group, led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has formally applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the registration of a new political party—the All Democratic Alliance.

The application, dated June 19, was acknowledged by INEC on Friday, signalling the coalition’s determination to float a new platform instead of aligning with any existing political party.

The formation of ADA, backed by some other key political heavyweights, including former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi and Umar Ardo, convener of the League of Northern Democrats and former aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, seeks to capitalise on mounting public dissatisfaction and political realignments to stop President Bola Tinubu at the next poll.

The application comes just a few days after INEC warned political groups that no amount of pressure or public sentiment would override the need for strict compliance with constitutional and electoral guidelines.


The commission reiterated that party registration remains a rigorous constitutional process—not merely a political declaration.

With Thursday’s application, the national opposition coalition has now put an end to weeks of speculation about whether it would revive a dormant political platform or launch a fresh one altogether.

A copy of the application letter, obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, was jointly signed by the association’s Protem National Chairman, Chief Akin A. Rickets, and Protem National Secretary, Abdullahi Elayo.

The letter partly read, “We respectfully write to the Independent National Electoral Commission, requesting the registration of our association, the All Democratic Alliance, as a political party.

“This is a sequel to the decision taken by the Nigerian National Coalition Group to sponsor our association for full registration.

“The name of the party shall be All Democratic Alliance with ADA as our acronym and ‘Justice for All’ as our slogan.”

The coalition also submitted relevant documents, including the party’s constitution, manifesto, logo, and minutes of its foundational meetings.

The party’s symbol prominently features a maize (corn), which the applicants say represents abundance, resilience, and sustenance—core ideals they hope to promote.

“We have further attached our manifesto encompassing details of our party ideology and our constitution providing the legal framework that defines our identity, structures, and organisation,” the letter continued.

By Augustine Akhilomen

The National Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, has disclosed that the choice of president Bola Tinubu’s running mate will be decided after the party’s national convention.

Basiru stated this in an interview with Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Friday.

“As far as we are concerned, the national summit held in the Presidential Villa has endorsed Mr President based on his track record and a large spectrum of stakeholders in our party have also overwhelmingly given endorsement to Mr president.

“The question of running mate is not yet onboard and nobody has come to say that the president has made any adverse decision as regards the present vice president.”

On Sunday, June 15, 2025, a summit for APC stakeholders from Nigeria’s North-East geopolitical zone became rowdy in Gombe State after APC North-East Vice Chairman, Mustapha Salihu, named Tinubu as the party’s sole candidate for re-election without mentioning Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The omission triggered protests from some members¹, who insisted that the vice president be included in the endorsement.

The APC national secretary said he was physically present at the summit and what happened wasn’t strange as “people in a democratic setting are born to have different opinions”.

Basiru, an Osun-based politician, said, “As far as I am concerned, there was no issue. I was physically present in Gombe State. After the summit, we had a reception at the Government House.

“Some people in the North East felt that it suffice to give endorsement to the president and then the president will be in a position to decide who would be his running mate in 2027.

“Some other people are of the view that it is also important that since the summit is being held in the North East, the vice president, coming from the North-East, should equally have an endorsement.

“What I know is that even at the national convention where a candidate for the presidential election will emerge, it is only the presidential candidate that will emerge at the convention.

“The running mate issue will be done after that. As far as our party is concerned, we have not made any statement or got ourselves involved in the politics of the North-East.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission has denied reports circulating online claiming the registration of two new political parties – the “Independent Democrats” and the “Peoples Democratic Movement”.

In an official statement issued by the commission via its X on Wednesday, INEC described the report as false and urged members of the public to disregard it.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Commission has not yet registered any new party.

“The current number of registered political parties in Nigeria is 19. Nothing has been added,” INEC stated.

INEC also addressed the history of the two political groups mentioned in the fake report.

“It will be recalled that both the ‘Independent Democrats’ and ‘Peoples Democratic Movement’ were registered as political parties in August 2013.

“However, they were deregistered in February 2020 in accordance with Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the commission said.

INEC emphasised its commitment to transparency and adherence to constitutional provisions in all electoral processes.

“We urge the public to disregard the said report,” it said.