Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has said the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the 2023 election, Dumebi Kachikwu, was wrong to accuse the ex-Senate President David Mark-led coalition of hijacking the party.
Dalung stated this on Thursday, when he appeared on Lunchtime Politics, a programme on Channels Television, stressing that due process was followed in the opposition coalition’s adoption of the ADC.
DAILY POST recalls that Kachikwu had alleged that the coalition hijacked the party and was not carrying stakeholders along.
While recalling that talks about a coalition had been ongoing for about 18 months, Dalung said key stakeholders of the ADC were carried along and had also attended the unveiling ceremony.
“The chairman of the board of trustees of the party was in attendance. So, it wasn’t a hijack because the members of the party were there, and the coalition elements were there to witness the transition of leadership.
“He (Kachikwu) might not know the developments that had taken place. He might not be in touch with the party, and so not quite informed about what has happened. But then he had expressed his feelings about what had transpired. The party will have to deal with it because the party is under new leadership,” the former minister said.
It will be recalled that the coalition was launched on Wednesday, with a former Senate President, David Mark, announced as the interim chairman of the party, while a former Minister of Interior and Osun governor, Rauf Aregbesola, was picked as the secretary. This followed a handing over by a former chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, at the event in Abuja.