What is your plan to unite opposition parties, and why should you be trusted?

As for me and my party this phase of our work is done. However, I am not going away. For as long as I breathe I will continue to struggle, with other Nigerians, to deepen our democracy and rule of law and for the kind of political and economic restructuring the country needs to reach its true potential. That struggle should now be led by the younger generation of Nigerians who have even more at stake than my generation. So, let me make a few proposals that I believe will help. We can urgently make constitutional amendments that will prevent any court or tribunal from hiding behind technicalities and legal sophistry to affirm electoral heists and undermine the will of the people. Our democracy must mean something; it must be substantive. Above all, it must be expressed through free, fair and transparent elections that respect the will of the people. Firstly, we must make electronic voting and collation of results mandatory. This is the 21st century and countries less advanced than Nigeria are doing so already. It is only bold initiatives that transform societies. Secondly, we must provide that all litigation arising from a disputed election must be concluded before the inauguration of a winner. This was the case in 1979. The current time frame between elections and inauguration of winners is inadequate to dispense with election litigations.

I call on the political elite to unite in the noble mission of safeguarding our democracy from the brink of authoritarianism. Our founding fathers united under a common cause, championing our independence through peaceful, political activism. What we celebrate today is the fruition of their collective endeavors and those of subsequent generations. It is deeply regrettable that our current landscape reflects a troubling decline in electoral credibility, increasingly manipulated by those in power. Our political milieu has become corrosive; opposition parties languish in weakness, while the ruling party appears to manipulate internal processes to render them ineffectual. Nigeria teeters on the brink of a one-party dictatorship, and it is incumbent upon all politicians and statesmen of integrity to rise and reclaim our democracy from the encroaching shadows of oppression. In closing, I make an impassioned appeal to political leaders across all party lines: let us forge a formidable coalition, one that will provide Nigerians with a credible opposition capable of steering our beloved nation towards a promising future. -AA #October1

The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State reeks of political manipulation and outright bad faith. Anyone paying attention to the unfolding crisis knows that Bola Tinubu has been a vested partisan actor in the political turmoil engulfing Rivers. His blatant refusal or calculated negligence in preventing this escalation is nothing short of disgraceful. Beyond the political scheming in Rivers, the brazen security breaches that led to the condemnable destruction of national infrastructure in the state land squarely on the President’s desk. Tinubu cannot evade responsibility for the chaos his administration has either enabled or failed to prevent. It is an unforgivable failure that under Tinubu’s watch, the Niger Delta has been thrown back into an era of violent unrest and instability — undoing the hard-won peace secured by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua. Years of progress have been recklessly erased in pursuit of selfish political calculations.

Seemingly, Mr President’s illegal and unconstitutional proclamation was driven by the protracted insidious political crisis in Rivers State, culminating in the recent ruling of the Supreme Court. Ordinarily, all parties involved would have been expected to follow laid-down procedures, motivated by good faith, to quickly implement the judgment of the highest court of the land. We note that Governor Fubara’s disposition is geared towards full implementation of the ruling of the Supreme Court, despite provocative statements from opposing quarters. It is also notable that Mr President’s broadcast to the nation on 18th March 2025 betrayed his bias and is infra dig of the sophisticated communication expected from the highest office in the land. By so doing, the President dragged himself and his highly exalted office into the arena of the political brawl, thereby denigrating his high office through inelegant language, predisposed excessiveness and malignant deportment.

Question: Why have you moved between political parties several times, and why should Nigerians see those moves as a matter of principle rather than political convenience or personal ambition? Answer: Political parties, in practical terms, are a vehicle for contesting for political offices in a party-system democracy. That is the primary purpose of the political party. Unfortunately, our democracy in Nigeria has not matured to the point where whoever becomes president is subject to the supremacy of the party. Often, the president takes the reins in the ruling party and often constricts opposition from within, leaving no room for what we call internal democracy. In such situations, it becomes impractical for me to remain in the party knowing full well the party has become a one-man dictatorship. I don’t play the yes-man politics. I believe in competitive politics.

Question: What would you say to South-East voters who believe that their region has been denied a fair opportunity to produce the president and why should they trust you? Answer: I have said repeatedly that I represent the best political bridge to actualize the dream of a Southeast presidency. I make the assertion with all sense of modesty based on our shared history. The Southeast and the Northeast, where I come from, must work together within the framework of a pan-Nigerian project to lead negotiation for correcting the power-sharing imbalance in Nigeria. The clamour for Southeast presidency is as valid as the clamour for Northeast presidency. I believe that it is based on mutual understanding and cooperation that the Southeast and Northeast can achieve the goal of producing a president of Nigeria—neither can go it alone.