By Musa Baba Adamu with agency report
The crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kebbi State has taken a fresh turn, with three aggrieved candidates accusing some party members of allegedly forging affidavits and other documents to create the impression that they had withdrawn from the party’s electoral contests.
The candidates, namely Abubakar Sadiq Sa’adu Fakai, Muhammad Umar and Nafiu Bello Shuwa, are challenging in court their alleged replacement after emerging as candidates from the party’s primaries.
In a joint statement issued during the weekend, the trio rejected claims that they were being sponsored to destabilize the party or undermine its governorship candidate, Abubakar Malami.
The candidates said their dispute was not with Malami or the ADC but centered on what they described as the unlawful removal of candidates who had emerged from the party’s primary elections.
“For clarification’s sake, we are not fighting Malami, ADC, or anybody, but we remain undeterred in our legal struggle to reclaim our stolen mandates by the alleged forgers in our party, whom we believe are not after the success of our party,” they said.
Speaking on behalf of the candidates, Fakai said allegations that they were sponsored would not discourage them from pursuing their cases through the courts and other lawful avenues.
He insisted that the three remained legitimate candidates and were merely exercising their constitutional right to seek redress over what they considered an injustice.
Fakai further alleged that documents purporting to show their voluntary withdrawal from the contests were forged, arguing that such conduct, if established, went beyond an internal political disagreement and could attract criminal liability.
He also accused individuals claiming to be acting in support of Malami and the ADC of taking steps that could deepen divisions within the party and ultimately damage the governorship candidate’s electoral prospects.
The three candidates, however, reaffirmed their loyalty to the ADC, stressing that their court actions should not be interpreted as an attempt to weaken the party.
They maintained that their objective was to reclaim what they described as their stolen mandates while allowing the courts and other lawful institutions to determine the dispute.
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