The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, has described the newly formed coalition under the umbrella of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a coalition of “recycled politicians” who can’t rescue Nigeria from its challenges.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s TUC Half Hour on Wednesday, Osifo branded key members of the alliance—including a former vice president, a former senate president, and ex-Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi—as “a bunch of jokers.”
He argued that Nigeria’s political landscape has been dominated by the same figures since 1999, with little progress to show for their tenures.
“For us in the TUC, we are not part of the coalition. If you look at it, we have been having the same story over and again since democracy returned to Nigeria from 1999 to date. Yet, we have not been better off for it,” Osifo said.
The labour leader drew parallels between the ADC and the All Progressives Congress (APC), which emerged in 2013 as an alternative to the then-ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Remember that sometime in 2013, there was a congregation where we were told these are messiahs and the people sent to lead Nigerians to El Dorado. That gave birth to APC, and the PDP was kicked out in 2015 for President Muhammadu Buhari to be elected. Most of them are the same actors in the ADC today,” he said.
Osifo questioned the credibility of the coalition’s leaders, challenging their past records in office.
“What has been the track record of the people leading the so-called coalition? You have someone who was vice president for eight years. What has he done? You have another who has been senate president for eight years and chairman of the National Assembly. So the question is: for that eight years that he was there, what did he do to influence good laws that could have transformed the entire country? Nothing.”
He dismissed former Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s inclusion in the alliance, declaring, “These are all jokers, I dare to say.”
Rather than placing hope in political realignments, Osifo urged Nigerians to prioritise electoral reforms. “I think what Nigerians should focus on is how to bring about an electoral reform where one vote will be for one man and a situation where results will not be written. That is what Nigerians should be interested in today.”
He also criticised the government’s economic policies, noting that despite claims of GDP growth, citizens continue to suffer from inflation, job insecurity, and poor wages. On tax reforms, he cautioned against policies that could further burden the unemployed.
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