ADC Crisis: Atiku’s failure to reach Nafiu Gombe exposes strategic weakness – Okechukwu

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has said that Nafiu Bala Gombe, factional leader of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has punctured the much-touted image of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as a master strategist.

Okechukwu made the observation while responding to journalists who sought his reaction to Gombe’s interview with BBC Radio, in which the factional ADC leader disclosed that Atiku had not contacted him despite the leadership crisis engulfing the party.

“Atiku hasn’t reached out to me despite coming from my geographical zone. I went to court with only the constitution. I told the world that if they had followed the right procedures, the court should rule in their favour. But if we were right, we should be given our rights,” Gombe reportedly said.

Okechukwu, however, said he hoped Atiku would eventually secure a place on the presidential ballot in 2027 to test his earlier prediction that Nigeria could witness its first presidential run-off election.

He said Atiku’s failure to engage Gombe behind the scenes had deflated his image as a master strategist, especially given their common geographical political roots and ancestry.

“One would have thought that a politician routinely celebrated by his followers as a master strategist would have considered it politically imperative to reach out to Gombe behind the scenes.

“That Atiku reportedly failed to make such a basic political move while the ADC crisis festered raises questions about the strategic depth of the much-touted master strategist,” Okechukwu said.

He also described Atiku’s handling of the unfolding political situation as his third unforced political error, comparing it with two previous mistakes in the former vice president’s political career.