Ex-ADC presidential candidate mocks David Mark, Aregbesola, others after INEC suspends party leadership

Mr Kachikwu said Mr Mark and other recently admitted members who assumed leadership of the party lack ideology and are driven solely by a belief that power is their birthright.

A former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has mocked the party’s leadership under former Senate President, David Mark, saying he (Mark) and other opposition figures attempted to come into the party through the back door.

Mr Kachikwu said Mr Mark and other recently admitted members who assumed leadership of the party lack ideology and are driven solely by a belief that power is their right.

He made the remarks in a statement issued on Thursday while reacting to the suspension of the Mr Mark-led caretaker committee of the ADC by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The ADC is currently divided into two factions, one led by Mr Mark and the other by Nafiu Bala, a former national vice chairman of the party.

Prominent members of the Mark-led ADC are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola, who is the national secretary, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, and his NNPP counterpart, Rabiu Kwankwaso. Others are former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; former Imo governor, Emeka Ihedioha; and former Ministers of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung and Bolaji Abdullahi.

On Wednesday, INEC suspended recognition of all leadership of the two factions of the party following a ruling by the Court of Appeal and ongoing litigation over its leadership.

The electoral commission said its decision was based on a directive of the appellate court, which ordered the warring factions to maintain the status quo pending the determination of a substantive suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

In response, Mr Mark’s leadership demanded the immediate resignation of the INEC Chairperson, Joash Amupitan, accusing the electoral body of undermining democracy and interfering in the internal affairs of political parties.

Reacting, Mr Kachikwu alleged that Mr Nwosu, a factional leader, initially handed over the party structure to Mr Mark and other new entrants last year.

He criticised Mr Mark’s faction, describing its members as career politicians who had failed Nigerians while in office.

“How did we get here? Did hundreds of our so-called political giants just commit political suicide? How did they get sucked into this quicksand? Let me tell you how. Ralph Nwosu, whose tenure as chairman of the African Democratic Congress lapsed on the 21st of August 2022, sold the ADC to men who had destroyed their parties and were seeking another party with which to prosecute their grudge match against President Tinubu and the APC.

“This group of mostly ex-political office holders who have held sway over the affairs of Nigeria for the last forty years or more had attempted to register the ADA and then jumped to the SDP before they gate-crashed the ADC in the middle of the night. How do you explain this? Jumping from political party to political party, no ideology, no belief system, standing for nothing and believing only in the notion that power is their birthright.”

“ADC is bad market”

Mr Kachikwu described the party as a “bad market” and warned that those defecting to it risk future disappointment. He said that the ongoing legal disputes could get to the Supreme Court.

“I had long warned that the ADC was a bad market and that anyone who attempted to come into the party through the back door would be shown the way out through the windows. What we are seeing today is just the beginning.

“There are several court cases that will end at the Supreme Court, and the only way they can win is if the Supreme Court can change Monday to Saturday and Saturday to Tuesday, but again, this is Nigeria, where anything and everything is possible. So, all those of you who joined these geriatrics because you seek to contest for positions in the 2027 general elections, I regret to inform you that the actions of these men have rendered any political aspiration through the ADC a nonstarter,” he said.

One-party system concerns

Mr Kachikwu also dismissed concerns that the development signals a drift towards a one-party state, noting that several opposition parties still exist, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party, and others.

“There are many who would say that this means that we are now a one-party state, and my immediate response is that we have the PDP, Labour Party, NNPP, AA, AAC, SDP, ADP, APGA, Accord, and many other parties out there. So why the ADC? Why the African Democratic Congress? These men who attempted to hijack our party had already concluded plans to conduct congresses where forms that were hitherto sold for N50,000 would now be sold for N500,000, all in a bid to disenfranchise the poor party faithful who originally held those positions.

“Are they saying that ordinary Nigerians, whom they consider poor, are not good enough to hold party positions in a party where these big men are? They have long told us that they seek political office to better the lot of the masses, yet they can’t be in a party where the masses hold sway.”