…Says illegal NWC can’t suspend him
By Abubakar Y Ojima, Abuja
The Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Dumebi Kachikwu, has said that he remains the candidate of the party for the 2023 election despite his purported suspension by the former National Working Committee of the party headed by Ralph Nwosu.
Kachikwu, who debunked news of his suspension at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday, stated that neither Nwosu nor the defunct National Working Committee chaired by him has the power to suspend him having elapsed on August 28, 2022.
The ADC presidential candidate, who was flanked by the Chairman and Chairmen of state chapters of the party, Mr. Temitope Ogga from Kogi State and his Edo State counterpart, Mr. Kennedy Odion, described his claimed suspension by an illegal NWC as a joke since he had not done anything to warrant suspension having won the election to fly the party’s ticket as its flagbearer.
Kachikwu said however that he was not surprised by the illegal attempt by Nwosu-led group to suspend him since he and some of his members had sought his support to remain in office for another term, but he declined on the ground that he had been chairman for more than 17 years and should give way in line with the constitution of the party and Nigeria.
Kachikwu said that most state chairmen of the party and members of the NWC were against the continuation of Nwosu as chairman of the ADC after 17 years and requested for an election on August 28, 2022 but the meeting was stalled by Nwosu and his group to prevent the emergence of a new chairman and NWC members.
The presidential candidate stated: “In accordance with the constitution of the ADC, the tenure of the chairman and his NWC members elapsed on August 28, 2022 and it is only the National Executive Council, NEC, made up of state chairmen of the party, which has the power to run the affairs of the party and take decisions.
“That was why the elements behind my purported suspension sent out an unsigned document to the media since none of them has any mandate to take any legal action on behalf of the ADC having ended their tenure since August 28, 2022.
“But let it be known to all that we will not allow our mandate to be traded by some pecuniary-minded elements as they had been doing in the past when many candidates were substituted for financial gains,” Kachikwu warned.
Kachikwu enjoined the Independent National Election Commission to take note of the attempts by some elements in the party to foist themselves on power beyond the limits provided by the constitution and to stand firm to ensure that democracy is not derailed by such antics.
It will be recalled that Dr. Bamidele Ajadi, who indicated his position as the Deputy National Chairman (Politics), had announced the suspension of Kachikwu on Saturday morning, claiming that the decision was taken after an emergency National Working Committee (NWC) meeting which held on Friday, September 2 for allegedly making a false, misguided and defamatory video to embarrass the party and its members.
Although the said video was not provided, Ajadi claimed that Kachikwu’s action amounted to crass irresponsibility, gross indiscipline, disingenuous scandalization and blackmail, and completely unfit of someone who wants to be President of Nigeria.
