‘Coalition is a one-man power grab’ — Kachikwu accuses Atiku of hijacking ADC

‘Coalition is a one-man power grab’ — Kachikwu accuses Atiku of hijacking ADC

 Dumebi Kachikwu, 2023 presidential candidate of the African
Democratic Congress (ADC), has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of
orchestrating a calculated takeover of the party to advance his 2027
presidential ambition.

 

In June, major opposition figures, including Abubakar; Peter
Obi, 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP); Nasir el-Rufai,
former governor of Kaduna; and Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of
transportation, announced a coalition under the umbrella of the ADC as the
platform to contest elections in 2027.

 

However, addressing a press conference in Abuja on Friday,
Kachikwu alleged that the former vice-president and a group of mostly retired
political officeholders have manipulated Obi and the leadership of ADC through
fraudulent means into the coalition.

 

Kachikwu said Obi is being pressured to accept to be
Abubakar’s running mate, adding that his men have been strategically positioned
within the party’s hierarchy nationwide to secure its control.

 

He said despite professing affinity with the south, the
former vice-president does not believe any southerner deserves the presidency.

 

“I had warned that a group of mostly old former political
officeholders were executing a carefully orchestrated agenda to take over the
ADC to prosecute Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition come 2027,” he said.

 

“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.”

 

He also accused Atiku’s camp of spreading falsehoods to
deepen regional divides, portraying President Bola Tinubu as hostile to the
north and undermining southern presidential aspirants.

 

“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,” Kachikwu added.

 

“They 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.”

 

Kachikwu also presented evidence of forgery involving
signatures of ADC state chairmen on court documents, which were used to
validate Ralph Nwosu’s disputed claim to the party’s chairmanship.

 

He condemned the appointment of former Senate President
David Mark as ADC chairman, describing it as a “fraud perpetrated in broad
daylight”.

 

“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,” he said.

 

“I have here copies of said judgement and international
passport copies of the chairmen whose signatures were forged; ladies and
gentlemen of the press, please compare the signature specimens.

 

“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.”

Source: ‘Coalition is a one-man power grab’ — Kachikwu accuses Atiku of hijacking ADC

 - NigerianEye
Invest in US dollars: https://hashflare.io/r/CF2F6691