Dumebi Kachikwu, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, has strongly reacted to the adoption of the party by an opposition coalition led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Kachikwu asserts that the coalition is dealing with an expired leadership of the party, headed by Ralph Nwosu.
The coalition, meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, announced ADC as their platform to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
They also named former Senate President David Mark as the interim national chairman of the ADC and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola as the party’s interim national secretary.
“Amused” by the Takeover
In a statement responding to the developments, Kachikwu expressed amusement at what he described as the “announced takeover” of the ADC leadership.
He clarified that the Atiku-led group is in an “alliance with the former leadership of the party led by Ralph Nwosu,” whose tenure, he claims, expired on August 21, 2022.
Kachikwu noted that Nwosu’s continued claim to the chairmanship has been the subject of various litigations.
Kachikwu posed rhetorical questions to the coalition: “Can you build something on nothing? Can you shave a man’s hair in his absence? Can you enter a man’s house through the back door and declare yourself the landlord?”
He lambasted the group, referring to them as “yesterday’s men who represent a bad chapter in Nigeria’s past,” asserting they “bought bad market from a man who represents a bad chapter in ADC’s past.”
The former presidential candidate did not mince words, describing the coalition as “mostly geriatrics” who have been “shopping around for a party to prosecute their ‘chopping must continue’ ambition.”
He stated that this further confirms the perception that “political parties in Nigeria stand for nothing and will fall for anything.”
Kachikwu challenged the coalition’s claim of fighting for ordinary Nigerians and being on a “rescue mission,” given that its members — comprising a former vice president, former governors, ministers, and political office holders — have “presided over the affairs of this nation for the past four decades.”
He argued that their leadership has left Nigeria “divided by tribe and religion and thriving in mediocrity,” with the majority of citizens living in poverty.
“We are a nation lacking in the basics… but here we are watching those who set our nation on fire saying they are the fire brigade.
“No, you are not; you are a bunch of greedy and selfish old men who believe that political power is your birthright,” Kachikwu declared.
Call for New Leadership and Proper Procedure
Kachikwu insisted that Nigerians are “tired of your generation and reject everything you have to offer, which is nothing.
”He emphasized a yearning for “new names, new faces, fresh ideas, and progressive ideals” for a Nigeria that thrives on meritocracy and unity, irrespective of tribe or religion.
He concluded by advising the coalition: “If you seek to be a part of the ADC, do the proper thing and come through the front door.
“We are a party of decent and well-behaved people. Our brand of opposition is one that not only opposes but also proposes, something that your group is not conversant with.”
Kachikwu strongly suspected that the coalition would soon be “shopping for another party,” and on behalf of the ADC members, wished them “Bon Voyage.”
(vitalnewsngr.com)
