Ita Enang, a former Senior Special Assistant to ex-president Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters has said that President Bola Tinubu holds the secret to political coalition.

Enang while speaking to journalists in Akwa Ibom on Friday, June 20, said the plan by the opposition to unseat President Tinubu is dead on arrival.

He also said that moves by some political actors to form a merger party are bound to fail ahead of 2027.

Enang, a former lawmaker of the National Assembly said Tinubu possess the core knowledge needed to champion a form of political merger.

He said, “The formula and secrets of the merger remain with President Bola Tinubu; now that he has not released the secret, how will those intending to float a merger manage to succeed?

“President Bola Tinubu is a democrat who has formed, funded, and floated the merger APC to overthrow the PDP in 2015. 

“He will even create an opposition party against himself so that he can get to feel the reaction of the people and make the necessary adjustments for the interest of the people,” Enang stated.

He also commended governors, lawmakers and othe political leaders who recently aligned with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Enang assured the new party members of a stronger partnership that would benefit all and promote the ideals of the APC.

Fulani leaders across the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa state have called on herders to live peacefully with farmers and other residents amid the recurring conflicts between both groups.

The leaders made the appeal on Friday during a stakeholders’ engagement in Lafia, the state capital, organized by the Fulbe Development and Cultural Organization (FUDECO).

The event was tagged: “Consolidating the Outcomes of the IDRC-SPARC GES Research Findings on the Economic Empowerment of Pastoralist Women in Nasarawa State.”

Muhammad Habib Hussaini, FUDECO state chairman, who spoke on behalf of the Fulani leaders, expressed concern over the persistent clashes and appealed to governments at all levels to focus on peacebuilding in rural areas.

Hussaini said reviving nomadic schools is critical to addressing ignorance, which he described as a key factor fuelling the crisis.

“We are calling on the government at all levels to revive and re-open nomadic schools because we see it as a solution to the clashes between herders and farmers,” he said.

“Most of the problems happening in our pastoralist communities can be traced to ignorance, so promoting nomadic education is very important.”

“We want children of pastoralists to be educated and enlightened. This will enable them to understand the dangers of engaging in any form of crisis in society.”

Hussaini also highlighted FUDECO’s empowerment of over 250 pastoralist women across Nasarawa, who were trained in vocational skills and supported with start-up capital.

He said the initiative was supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC), and funded by UKAID.

“Your funding has enabled us to empower over 250 pastoralist women across the 13 local government areas of Nasarawa state through vocational skills training,” he said.

“This project aims to promote the economic empowerment of pastoralist women, and our research has evaluated its impact, identified challenges, and made recommendations for policymakers.”

He said the project also prioritized gender equality, social inclusion, and women’s empowerment.

Hussaini expressed hope that the engagement would inspire broader collaboration among Fulani stakeholders to address the challenges facing pastoralist communities, including insecurity, exclusion, resource conflict, livestock diseases, and poor access to social services.

Usman Ibrahim, a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the Federal University of Lafia and the lead researcher said the training was aimed at promoting financial independence among pastoralist women.

“The reason why the Fulbe Development and Cultural Organization embarked on the training of over 250 pastoralist women, who were selected from across the 13 LGAs of the state, is to enable them to have skills that can help put food on their tables,” he said.

“We observed that over 70 percent of pastoralist women did not receive formal education, so the association felt it was important to help them acquire skills so that they won’t consider crime as an option for their daily survival.”

“We believe that if they have something to do, they will not engage in crime because joblessness is a major reason for insecurity in Nigeria.”

He appealed to the federal and state governments, as well as concerned citizens, to support FUDECO’s efforts to empower more women in pastoralist communities.

Representatives of security agencies, traditional and religious leaders, as well as Fulani women and youth groups, attended the stakeholders’ meeting.

After weeks of internal deliberations, the Nigeria National Coalition Group (NNCG) has formally applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register a new political party named All Democratic Alliance (ADA).

The application letter, dated June 19, 2025, and officially stamped received by INEC on June 20, was signed by Chief Akin A. Rickets, Protem National Chairman of the association. A copy of the letter, obtained by Politics Nigeria, sets out the coalition’s intentions in detail:

“Application For Registration As A Political Party.”

“We respectfully write to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, requesting the registration of our association, the All Democratic Alliance, ADA, as a political party. This is 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 National Secretariat of the party is as stated at the bottom of the association’s letterhead used in this application.”

“We have also herewith attached our logo describing in details the symbolism of our party colours and their configuration and the corn (Maize). 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 organization, regulates our affairs and guides our actions in alignment with Section 40 and 222 of the Constitution, Section 75 of the Electoral Act (2022) and global democratic principles and objectives.
Please find attached the following documents: our party flag depicting our name, acronym and slogan, manifesto, constitution and minutes of meeting.”

“While we eagerly await further action from the commission on the next step forward towards attaining our desired goal, please accept the consideration of our highest respect.”

Thank you yours most sincerely;

Chief Akin A. Rickets, Protem National Chairman.”

The NNCG coalition comprises several high-profile figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; ex–Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi; his Kaduna State counterpart Nasir El-Rufai; Dr. Umar Ardo, convener of the League of Northern Democrats; and other notable public officeholders and party strategists.

Initially, the coalition explored merging with existing parties—chiefly the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP)—but withdrew due to concerns about “internal wrangling” and ongoing litigations within those ranks. A special committee chaired by Rotimi Amaechi was convened to assess whether to join an established party or launch a fresh platform. Roughly a week ago, the committee recommended creating a new party to ensure all members begin “on equal footing in terms of membership.”

With ADA’s formal application now before INEC, the coalition awaits the commission’s guidance on the next steps toward obtaining full party status ahead of the 2027 general elections.