The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has expressed pessimism over the ability of the 2027 coalition members to save Nigeria from its troubles.
According to him, members of the coalition are people who had always been in government and were unable to make any meaningful contribution to the development of Nigeria.
He lamented that members of the coalition are enemies of Nigeria, whose only goal is to drag the nation backwards.
Naijaonpoint reports Kachikwu made the submissions on Wednesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“They are enemies of Nigeria. They are enemies of progress. Nigerians can no longer be fooled. Nigerians from all walks of life watched the video—I just saw it today—and what you saw in that hall were ‘former’ this and ‘former’ that: former Vice President, former governors, former ministers. All these ‘formers’ are taking Nigeria back to its former glory. They’ve never taken us forward,” he stated.
Speaking further, Kachikwu criticized the composition of the coalition, stating that they are the same set of people responsible for the current predicament in the country and are now positioning themselves as people who can rescue the nation.
He argued that most of the coalition members are elderly political jobbers who have nothing new to offer.
He said, “These same people have ruled Nigeria for the last four decades. Where are we as a country? A nation where 80 per cent of the population is poor. And now they pretend to be the fire brigade, trying to put out the fire they started.
“Seventy per cent of our population are youths—where were the youths in that gathering? What we saw was a bunch of geriatrics. Seventy per cent of them are above 75 years old, and yet they claim they want to rescue Nigeria.
“These are political jobbers, career office holders. All they do from 9 to 5 is sit at home and complain about the government. That’s not opposition—that’s self-service.
“I weep for Nigerians. I weep for my generation that lost the opportunity for leadership. The same people I watched on television as a child, read about in the news, are the same people still ruling us—and they still want to rule us. They have nothing to offer. We are living in a new age,” he said.
Backdoor Hijacking
Kachikwu also condemned the manner in which the ADC was adopted by the opposition coalition, saying they had entered the party through the back door.
He added that Ralph Nwosu does not have the right to lead or make decisions for the party as his tenure expired in 2022.
“The manner in which they came—through the back door—shows you who they are. They are back-door people. I’m opposed to viruses and bacteria entering my party. People who destroyed Nigeria cannot claim to be the ones to fix it.
“Anybody who truly wants to join the ADC should know that Ralph Nwosu’s tenure lapsed two years ago. He has no mandate, no business, and no authority to enter any coalition on our behalf.”
Illegal Membership
The former presidential candidate argued that the emergence of new leadership of the ADC contravenes the provisions of the party constitution, which states that party leaders must have been members for at least two years
“The constitution of my party is clear. To hold any office in the ADC, you must have been a member for at least two years.
“There’s been no convention to amend that. How are they now claiming they’re interim chairman, interim secretary, and declaring across the board that everyone has resigned? That’s just fraudulent,” he said.
INEC Will Decide
Kachikwu submitted that he and other concerned members will write to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for clarification.
“To make things easy for Nigerians, we shall be communicating with INEC. If INEC says that a man who left the party 18 years ago, whose tenure ended two years ago, is now chairman, I will gracefully bow out of the party. I’ll also cease speaking against this coalition,” the ADC chieftain said.