BY VINCENT UJUMADU
African Democratic Congress, ADC, Wednesday in Onitsha, Anambra State, announced its withdrawal from the presidential election coming up on April 9, 2011, and directed its members to vote for President Goodluck Jonathan.

The presidential candidate of the party, Professor Peter Nwangwu, was, however, not present at the rally where the national chairman of the party, Chief  Ralph Nwosu, announced the withdrawal.

Nwosu told supporters of the party that after extensive deliberations by the party, it came to the conclusion that Nigerians wanted President Jonathan, adding that as a party for the people, ADC decided to support the President to do the wish of Nigerians.

“We are not a selfish party. We decided to step-down our presidential candidate Prof. Peter Nwangwu and asked our party members and supporters to vote President Goodluck Jonathan in the April 9 election and our flag bearer, being a true democrat willingly agreed to step down.

“Our party has ideology and whatever we are doing, we do with reason. We decided to announce this in Onitsha as a mark of respect for the great Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who was the symbol of a new Nigeria and who equally shares name with President Jonathan,” the ADC chairman said.

Nwosu, who decried the poor state of the home of the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, promised that the party’s lawmakers would sponsor bills at the National and State House of Assembly to facilitate the completion of the mausoleum started over eight years ago.

The former presidential candidate of ADC, Nwangwu, was originally a member of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, where he aspired to be a senator, but had to decamp to ADC when he lost the ticket to the former Minister of Information and Communications, Professor Dora Akunyili.