By Henry Umoru

ABUJA- THE 2023 Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has taken a swipe at Coalition leaders who took over control of the party as the platform to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027, challenging the promoters to be courageous enough to
announce that the party will field a Southern presidential candidate in the next election.

Addressing Journalists on Thursday in Abuja, Dumebi Kachikwu who described the opposition figures, led by former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and taking over the ADC, as ‘enemies of Nigeria., said that from the beginning, the coalition was tailored towards producing Atiku Abubakar as the candidate of the party in 2027, just as he said that Nigerians are all victims of unjust system.

He said, “These people are being sponsored against us Nigerians, they are all friends, they attend the same meetings, weddings, parties, they are all old friends. We are all victims of an unjust system. Atiku and Tinubu are not my problem, their generation is my problem.”

Amidst the present political crisis rocking the party, Kachikwu has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to inform Nigerians who the current National Chairman of the ADC.

According to the ex-presidential candidate, said that the opposition politicians — some of whom have held political offices in the past — are not going to take the country forward, stressing that Nigerian youths, who form the largest demographic, are not part of the coalition, adding, “the same people who put our country on its knees are the same people who claim they are fire brigade and they want to put out fire. And you think these people are out to rescue Nigeria? They are political jobbers.”

Kachikwu said, “There are also those who believe that by way of force, people can come in and take over the party. I just want to say before I start taking questions from journalists here present, I am not one who is easily cowed. For those who have been threatening me since yesterday, for those who on social media believe that I can be bullied, for people like People Gazette who have sent messages threatening that they are publishing a story about tax evasion, the same story they published 2 or 3 years ago in America, I will say to them very clearly now that at least I will assess taxes that they are claiming $2.7 million in America.

“The people that they are promoting, they should show you where they pay taxes, the business they do and their means of livelihood. To those who continue to believe that politics in Nigeria should continue by way of bullying, threats and aggressive forms of behavior, I want to tell you that we need to move away from this style and this brand of politics in Nigeria. You cannot continue to cow people on social media.

“You are the vocal minority and the silent majority will continue to have their way in Nigeria. You cannot bully people into going your way. As a party, I have here William, who is chairman of Benue State, Musa, the state chairman of Niger State, William from Nasarawa State here, I have Mohamed, who is also the national PRO of Etibok, chairman of Akwa Ibom, Mohamed Bono, and Zaradine Jigawa.

“These people you see here are people they call ordinary Nigerians, common men, who are the people who have been the guardians, custodians of this party. They are the people you saw yesterday when Mosu said that all their offices have been dissolved so that these new people can take over the party. Just imagine the situation.

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of Labour Party in 2023 election, Peter Obi, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and ex-Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, had on Wednesday taken over control of African Democratic Party, ADC, as the platform to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027.