Yesterday’s takeover of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) leadership by the pro-Atiku Abubakar coalition has drawn the ire of some state chairmen of the party.

Presidential Candidate of the ADC in the 2023 election, Dumebi Kachikwu, and National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Musa Isa Matara, also toed the same line.

Kachikwu and four state chairmen – Dr. Etimbuk Umoh (Akwa Ibom), Alaku William (Nasarawa), Adikwu Elias (Benue) and Mohammed Kalla (Borno), representing the others, spoke to reporters in Abuja after the Abuja event.

Chief Ralph Nwosu, at an event attended by ex-governors, ex-ministers and some opposition politicians, surrendered the leadership of the party to former Senate President David Mark as chairman, and Rauf Aregbesola, a former Osun State governor, as national secretary.

Also in is Bolaji Abdullahi, a journalist and former Minister of Sports, as publicity secretary.

The three resumed as interim national officers to prepare the party for the Atiku coalition members.

But the state chairmen disowned Mark, Aregbesola and Abdullahi, saying they had no right to take over the party in that manner.

According to them, Atiku and his men entered into an alliance with Nwosu, who they described as a former chairman whose tenure expired in 2022.

They also said the action is against the position of ADC’s constitution, which precludes anybody whose membership is less than two years, from holding party office.

They said there are many unresolved court cases on the leadership tussle in the ADC.

Atiku and other defectors, they insisted, could not build something on nothing because the alleged takeover of ADC was sub-judice.

They accused Atiku and others of buying a “bad market” because ADC is in court with its past leadership, which sold a dummy to them.

Kachikwu, who made the position of the party known, said it was laughable that ambitious defectors could hijack a party without recourse to the party’s constitution.

Speaking on behalf of the aggrieved party leaders, Kachikwu said: “Dear ADC family and fellow Nigerians, it is with the greatest amusement that I watched the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar-led group announce their takeover of the national leadership of the African Democratic Congress.

“As is expected, I have been inundated with a lot of calls and messages seeking my reaction to the unfolding drama.

“The facts of the matter are as follows: The Atiku-led group is in some form of alliance with the former leadership of the party led by Ralph Nwosu.

“The tenure of the Nwosu-led executive lapsed on August 21, 2022, and his continued parade of himself as the chairman of the party was the subject of various litigations in different courts across the country.”

He asked Atiku, Mark and others to answer some fundamental questions.

He said: “From the foregoing, I want to then pose the following questions: 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?

“These yesterday’s men who represent a bad chapter in Nigeria’s past have bought a bad market from a man who represents a bad chapter in ADC’s past.

“Nigerians have watched in amazement as this group of mostly geriatrics shopped around for a party to prosecute their ‘chopping must continue’ ambition.”

Kachikwu condemned the desperation of opposition leaders for a platform for the 2027 poll.

He said: “This further cements the opinion most people hold that political parties in Nigeria stand for nothing and will fall for anything.

“They have told us that they are fighting for the rights of ordinary Nigerians and that they are on a rescue mission but what is confusing to the Nigerians they want to rescue is that these men made up of a former vice president, former governors, ministers and political office holders are the same people who have presided over the affairs of this nation for the past four decades.

“We have nothing to show for their decades of leadership other than being seen as a nation divided by tribe and religion and thriving in mediocrity.

“We are a nation lacking in the basics, whose majority are poor, 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.

“You stand for nothing other than your interests and will pay any price to hold political office.”

He said ADC and Nigerians have no room for geriatrics again.

“Nigerians are tired of your generation and reject everything you have to offer, which is nothing.

“Nigerians yearn for new names, new faces, fresh ideas and progressive ideals.

“We yearn for a new Nigeria that thrives on meritocracy and deemphasises tribe and religion.

“We dream of a nation that works for all Nigerians irrespective of region or religion.

“We want a nation whose laws and opportunities are equal to all men. We desire inclusiveness for all and social protection for the weak among us.

“Nigerians have never asked for much other than a leadership that truly cares. You have failed us and stand rejected by us,” he said.

Kachikwu asked potential defectors to ADC to follow the due process.

He said: “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.

“I strongly suspect that you will be shopping for another party very soon, and as you do that, we, the members of the African Democratic Congress, wish you Bon Voyage.”

On whether he plans to sue members of the coalition to stop them from taking over the party, he said: “All options are on the table and in the next few days you will see our reactions to the issue.”

Asked why Ralph Nwosu was still ‘parading’ himself as the National Chairman of the ADC when his tenure ended in 2022, Kachikwu said: “Well, those people who preside over the affairs of small parties have played the same game for years, which is trade with the mandate of aspirants and candidates in those parties.

“So the political party for them represents a product that they can sell, and this is what they continue to do.

“So, it’s difficult for people like these to leave the only thing that they know.“

On whether the controversy will work for the coalition, he said: “I believe that people, who for the last couple of months have been shopping for political parties to use to prosecute their ambition, are looking for a place where it’s rosy and they will get it very easily and cheaply.

“Once they see that the ADC is not the kind of party that they can use to prosecute their ambition, I suspect that very soon they will leave the party and look for another.

“We saw that they tried the SDP. We saw they tried a couple of other parties, and it didn’t work for them. So that’s why we believe that they are also trying ADC.

“But now they should realise that they have been dealing with the wrong parties (leaders) in ADC.

“Most members of ADC are not aware, they are not part of this and don’t support this in any way.

“You will see that I have some chairmen of some of the state chapters of ADC who are here with us who are totally opposed to whatever they have done or whatever they are trying to do.

“What the former National Chairman has done is to trade off people’s mandate, and that is what he is trying to do with these people. Like I said, it’s dead on arrival.

“This party is not for sale, and anybody who is buying this is buying a bad product because you are not going to have any transfer.”

Concerning the recognition of Ralph Nwosu as the National Chairman of ADC by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kachikwu quipped: “I don’t believe that INEC recognises Ralph Nwosu as chairman.

“INEC has made it very clear that his tenure lapsed on the 21st of August 2022. There has been a lacuna in the party.

“Justice Binta Nyako in 2022 also declared that the seat was vacant and asked that the party should go for a special convention immediately to bring in a new National Working Committee.

“Unfortunately, INEC frustrated all attempts we made to take over the national leadership of the party and have this special convention. But I believe that now, seeing that all eyes are on this party, INEC will do what is right.”

He explained how ADC ran into the present crisis.

He said: “When Justice Nyako gave the judgment, we wrote several letters to INEC asking for a special convention.

“INEC did not give us the courtesy of replying to one letter. It was very clear to us that INEC at that point was playing the script of some people. You will understand that Nwosu has been the chairman of the party for 18 years.

“So 18 years is 18 years of relationship with people who have been in INEC for a very, very long time.

“INEC did not respond to us, but at every material point, they let us know that they did not recognise Nwosu as the chairman of the party.

“But what you say to us verbally, put it in writing, let us have our special convention.

“At some point late last year, the party embarked on alternative dispute resolution and at this point, INEC started engaging and writing letters back and forth, advising them to go through this process of ADR.

“The party chairmen entered this process innocently believing that it was a process that would essentially let INEC recognise them because INEC stopped recognising the party chairmen across the board who were opposed to Nwosu, even though they were validly elected as party chairman across different states.

“Once they started this process of ADR, Nwosu wrote a letter recognising these state chairmen as authentic state chairmen of different state chapters.

“Unknown to them, they had a prepared script that they needed those signatures for them to sell the party to these gentlemen who have come in now.

“So it was a carefully orchestrated script because they wanted them to pull out their court case because of INEC’s ADR so that they could say that they didn’t have any case in court and then enter into the party.

“The moment these gentlemen realised what was going on, they said no, our party is not for sale.

“They asked INEC to do the right thing, recognise us, that we are the state chairmen of the party.

“These gentlemen have headed back to court to demand that Nwosu’s tenure lapsed and anything that Nwosu has done, like Justice Nyako said, since August 21st of 2022, is null and void. “So any agreement, anything he does, is not binding on the party. It’s a case of buyer beware.

“If your tenure has lapsed, how can you enter into any alignment or any agreement with anybody?

“Again, our party’s constitution is very clear. For you to hold any office in the party, you must have been a member of that party for at least two years.

“These are gentlemen who just took membership in the last couple of weeks. Who appointed them? Can you be a party official without a convention?”

“So what they have done is a case of someone buying a bad product, but what they never expected was that these gentlemen, whom they see as common peasants, common Nigerians, will have what it takes to stand up and stand against them, and that’s what you’re seeing.

“I assure you that tomorrow you will see the state secretaries, the state women leaders, the state youth leaders, all converging in Abuja, just hearing that their party has been sold in the media

“So at this point, the state chairmen are seeking to have a special convention so they can bring a new leadership into the party, and that is what we are in the process of working with INEC now to get a date for that convention. “Unfortunately, like I said, our party constitution does not allow new members to hold party offices. So these people are excluded or precluded from participating in that convention.”

‘Imposition of leaders not in order’

National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Dr. Musa Isa Matara, condemned the “unauthorised attempt” to impose Mark, Aregbesola and Abdullahi and hijack the leadership structure.

Matara clarified that while the ADC was not against alliances and reforms, the imposition and power grab disguised as progress are condemnable.

He cautioned against what he called “revolutionary rhetoric masking elite interests,” insisting that no legitimate party process had ratified Aregbesola’s appointment.

Matara said Aregbesola’s selection was not approved by the NWC, state chairmen, and other duly elected national officers.

He complained that due process was ignored and internal party democracy was undermined.

Rejecting the claim that ADC is now the platform for the new opposition coalition, Matara said such a declaration was premature and lacked the consent of the majority of party members.

He said: “The ADC is not anyone’s bargaining chip. Any merger or coalition built on shaky legal and constitutional ground will only lead to further instability.”

Matara warned that the litigations arising from the 2023 general elections are yet to be resolved in court, making the current attempt to force a political merger legally questionable and politically reckless.

He alleged that some individuals within the party were working to hand over control to outsiders for personal gain, warning prospective members of the risks involved in joining under the current circumstances.

Matara added: “ADC is owned by its grassroots members, not political dealmakers.

“The integrity and sovereignty of the party cannot be traded for convenience or expediency.”