Yemi Adaramodu, spokesperson of the Senate, has described the coalition of opposition forces under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a gathering of “recycled politicians united only for comic relief.”
Adaramodu, who chairs the senate committee on media and public affairs, said the All Progressives Congress (APC) is unbothered by the coalition, describing it as a familiar gathering of old political actors.
“Who is new? Who is there? And who was newly introduced?” he asked during an interaction with journalists.
The senator dismissed suggestions that the APC was in panic mode following the unveiling of the ADC as the preferred platform by opposition leaders.
“Why should we be bothered? Number one is that it is the same players,” he said.
“Either you were in PDP, or you are in Labour (Party), or you are in APGA. It’s the same players. So, it’s the same player that conglomerate together to be in ADC. It’s the same players. It’s the same thing.
“We know ourselves. We know them. We know the extent. We know the weaknesses and the strengths.”
Drawing a football analogy, Adaramodu likened the development to a team of former Chelsea players being fielded under a new banner.
“It’s like when all the players in Chelsea are transferred into Manchester United, and then Manchester City wants to play with them, and you know those players that you have already played with while they were all in Chelsea,” he said.
“So, do you fear again? It’s the same players. Who’s new? Who is the person that is newly introduced?
“Who are the new players that have been bought from the transfer market to make the field very stuffy and very difficult for the APC to score another electoral goal in 2027?”
He added that the coalition, while not a deliberate joke, offers some comic value to the political atmosphere.
“There’s no way we can be so busy like this and there’s not going to be a time that we have to entertain ourselves comically,” he said.
“We must laugh. We must relax. Our hormones must not be too busy secreting a lot of sweat. That’s not good for our health, not good for the health of our democracy.”
Adaramodu concluded by saying that though the actors are not comedians, their claims and moves are laughable.
“If there’s somebody who has been governor for 20 years, minister for 20 years, speaker for so many years, and said that he’s hungry, the action is comical — but the person is not a comedian,” he said.
