The Interim National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rauf Aregbesola, has called on party members and his supporters to refrain from trading insults or engaging in confrontations with members of the All Progressives Congress and other political parties.
Rather than engaging in verbal warfare, Naijaonpoint reports that Aregbesola advised members of the ADC to focus on constructive conversations with Nigerians centred on governance, national development, and the state of the economy.
Addressing a crowd of supporters who welcomed him at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos on Friday, the former Minister of the Interior emphasised that political maturity demands that debates be anchored in facts, not insults.
He said, “You don’t have to fight anyone. Do not abuse or attack anybody.
“I am happy that you have come to receive me. When they abuse or call you names, don’t retaliate. Ask them to tell you if the lives of Nigerians are better for it now than before.”
Aregbesola, a two-term governor of Osun State, urged ADC members to seize every opportunity to highlight the economic hardship faced by Nigerians under the current administration.
“Ask questions based on food inflation, the economy, rising cost of living and poverty, among others. Let your debates be issues-based,” he said.
According to a statement signed by the Organising and Publicity Secretary of Aregbesola’s political group, Omoluabi Progressives, Abosede Oluwaseun, the ADC chieftain maintained that the party offers Nigerians a credible and much-needed alternative.
Aregbesola said, “Tell them our position on these issues and why our new party, the ADC, is coming and why our alternative is critical and crucial for Nigeria’s progress and sustainability in the future.”