Calls Mark, Aregbesola’s takeover of ADC leadership fraudulent
By Lateef Ibrahim
Former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu has described the handing over of the leadership of the party to erstwhile Senate President, Senator David Mark and others by Dr. Ralph Okey Nwosu as a ‘broad daylight fraud’.
This is even as Kachikwu claimed that some northern elites have deliberately drafted former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan into the 2027 presidential race with a view to weakening the chances of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other aspirants from the southern part of the country.
The former ADC presidential candidate stated these on Friday while addressing a press conference in Abuja.
Kachikwu categorically declared that
Nwosu lacks legal mandate to anoint or appoint a Chairman for the party, as his tenure of had lapsed two years ago.
He equally urged Nigerians to resist former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his co-travellers who don’t believe in an equitable Nigeria.
Senator Mark was recently named as the National Chairman of the ADC, while a former Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the National Secretary of the party.
Mark and Aregbesola’s emergence as national chairman and Secretary respectively were ratified at a recent National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the party in Abuja.
According to Kachikwu, “A few weeks ago, I had warned that a group of mostly old former political office holders were executing a carefully orchestrated agenda to take over the ADC to prosecute Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition come 2027.
“I also warned that Peter Obi and other presidential hopefuls in this coalition of geriatrics were being duped as Atiku’s men had been carefully positioned to take over the ADC party structure across the country.
“Today I have been proven right as former Governor Obi and his people now realise that this coalition is indeed a one-man power grab.
“Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a man who claims affinity and friendship with the south does not believe any southerner deserves to be president of Nigeria.
“Former Presidents Obasanjo and Jonathan are alive to attest to this uncomfortable truth.
“In their desperation to hijack the ADC they deliberately perpetrated fraud of which I now present evidence to you today.
“I have here before you terms of settlement entered as judgement in the Court of Appeal of Nigeria holden at Port Harcourt with Appeal No: CA/PH/225/2023 between the ADC, Chief Ralph Nwosu, Engineer Ede Lawrence as appellants and some of the ADC state chairmen as respondents.
“What is the fraud? To use the ADC they needed to free it of all legal encumbrances such as those challenging Ralph Nwosu’s fraudulent claim to the chairmanship of the party and so they forged signatures of some of the chairmen who were not interested in the sale of the party and presented it to the court as terms of settlement, which the Court of Appeal adopted as judgement.
“I have here copies of said judgement and international passport copies of the chairmen whose signatures were forged.
“Our lawyers have dispatched petitions to the appropriate law enforcement agencies on this. As if this was not bad enough, we all watched almost two months ago the comedic performance of Ralph Nwosu as he anointed David Mark as chairman of the ADC and at the same time presented him with a membership card of our party.
“I again warned Nigerians that this was fraud being perpetrated in broad daylight as Nwosu had no legal mandate to anoint or appoint a chairman for our party”.
Kachikwu pointed out that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and a few northern elites who have for decades held political power but did nothing to alleviate the undereducation and attendant impoverishment in northern Nigeria for political purposes are at it again.
He claimed Atiku and the few Northern elites have armed the weapons of region, religion, tongue, tribe and poverty as they convince millions of poor Northerners that a southern President Tinubu hates them and is the cause of their poverty.
In his words, “On a daily basis, they are spreading deliberate falsehoods against not only President Tinubu but against all potential southern aspirants for the Office of President.
“A Peter Obi has been told in very clear terms that he will never get northern votes as an Ibo man and as such he should accept to be Atiku’s running mate.
“In order to weaken the South, they have now drafted in former President Jonathan into the race who is alleged to be offering Peter Obi the position of coordinating Minister of the Economy for him to support his ambition.
“In all these, Nigerians are the losers because meritocracy which can only thrive when ceteris paribus is in play has been thrown out of the door because of a truth ceteris paribus doesn’t exist in the Nigerian ecosystem.
“Sadly, I am now here before you championing the cause of a southern presidency, a notion that before now was totally against all I believed in. Nigeria has indeed happened to me”, he stated.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), similarly declared, unequivocally, that he will contest the 2027 presidential election, insisting that no force, internal or external, can stop him from doing so.
While dismissing speculations about his political future, he said: “Let me be very clear to you all — absolutely no power will stop me from contesting in the ADC primaries come next year. None whatsoever.”
