The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has dismissed claims of his expulsion from the party.
He insisted that former national chairman Ralph Nwosu and his National Working Committee (NWC) lack the authority to remove him.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Kachikwu declared he remains a bona fide member of the ADC and will vie for the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.
He described the newly inaugurated Senator David Mark-led interim National Executive Committee as an illegality orchestrated by a chairman whose tenure expired two years ago.
Kachikwu alleged that Nwosu and Mark’s faction forged the signatures of some state chairmen in a settlement agreement as part of a scheme to hijack the ADC’s structure in support of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s 2027 ambition.
He said the forgery matter has been reported to the relevant security agencies and accused the coalition of plotting a carefully planned takeover of the party ahead of the next general elections.
According to him, recent developments vindicate his earlier warnings about elderly former political office holders seeking to control the ADC for Atiku’s presidential bid.
“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 realize that this coalition is indeed a one-man power grab,” he said.
Kachikwu accused Atiku of having no belief in a southern presidency, saying, “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.”
For emphasis, he alleged fraud in a recent legal settlement involving the ADC, claiming that the signatures of some state chairmen were forged to secure favourable terms in court.
“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,” Kachikwu stated, while displaying documents and signature specimens to journalists.
He confirmed that allegations of forgery relating to recent attempts to seize control of the party are already before the authorities.
The former ADC candidate also dismissed the recent inauguration of former Senate President David Mark as the new chairman of the party, saying, “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,” he said.
Kachikwu insisted the developments were part of a wider plan to influence the 2027 polls along ethnic and religious lines.
