The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2023 elections, Mr Dumebi Kachikwu, has likened what is currently playing out in his party to a case of political suicide and bad market.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja Thursday, some days after an appellate court moved against Senator David Mark-led leadership, Dumebi wondered how the party got sucked into the quicksand, alleging that those who destroyed their own party merely gate-crashed into the ADC in the middle of the night with the help of its former national chairman, Ralph Nwosu and hijacked it.
The party it would be recalled was quick to reject the court ruling via a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi.
The party’s spokesperson described INEC’s position as contradictory and inconsistent with the facts of the case.
But basking in the euphoria of the latest development, Dumebi dismissed their rantings, saying the recent court ruling has ceased to recognise the David Mark led caretaker committee.
He particularly expressed satisfaction that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it wouldn’t recognise any faction until all matters in the courts have been decided.
“As is expected, I have been inundated with calls and messages seeking my reaction to INEC’s latest position. 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 for another party with which to prosecute their grudge match against President Tinubu and the APC.
“These 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 birth right.I had long warned that the ADC was 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,” he said.
“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.
“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 who 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 way.
” I will now answer the myriad questions that I have been getting since yesterday with this statement: I have now accepted that these old men are truly masters of the political game.
“For them to come into the ADC knowing that there is no pathway here for them, means that there is a conspiracy between these men and the APC to make a fool of us all.
“This is the only plausible explanation. My consolation in all these is that you can fool man, but you can’t fool God. God win,” he further added.
