ABUJA – A deepening crisis has erupted in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following explosive allegations by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, that some elements within a self-styled political coalition are offering state party chairmen as much as ₦20 million to resign their positions an alleged plot to hijack the party for personal gain.
Kachikwu at a press conference on Thursday in Abuja described the group behind the offer as a “political gang,” not a coalition, insisting that their agenda has nothing to do with national interest but everything to do with reviving their “personal economies.”
“They are offering some of the state chairmen as much as ₦20 million to resign their positions, which goes to show that their intentions are not honourable,” Kachikwu said. “Your money will get you nowhere in the ADC.”
The former presidential candidate, who emphasised his identity as an Ibo man from Onicha Ugbo, Delta State, said he reserves every right to aspire to Nigeria’s highest office and dismissed what he termed a deliberate misinformation campaign by “agents of destabilisation.”
“The presidency is not and will never be the birthright of one section of this country no matter how much propaganda they spread,” he said.
“What we have here today is a gang unable to survive outside political office, seeking to hijack the ADC as a means to rescue themselves from the harsh economic realities they themselves created for our nation.”
Kachikwu also refuted claims that he is a paid spokesperson for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying while it would be an honour to serve the President of the largest black nation, the allegation was false and a smear tactic by political jobbers “who have no visible means of livelihood.”
“I remain unfazed,” he said. “I can call myself the President of America till I am blue in the face, but it doesn’t make it so. They, with the active support of their cohorts in the media, now say they are the ADC they are not.”
He alleged that the coalition is staging phony events nationwide where “poor Nigerians are paid to say they are decamping to the ADC” from other parties a strategy he described as tired and deceitful.
He took a more direct aim at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, accusing him of orchestrating the power grab through proxies in the coalition. According to Kachikwu, Atiku’s political history reflects a refusal to accept southern leadership, citing the ex-VP’s past tensions with President Obasanjo, opposition to President Goodluck Jonathan, and recent refusal to support power rotation after President Buhari’s tenure.
“Atiku almost truncated President Obasanjo’s return for a second term because he believed the seat was his. Jonathan suffered the same fate. After eight years of Buhari, Atiku still believed he should be PDP’s presidential flag bearer. That was unjust and unfair, and it led to the current disintegration of the party.”
Kachikwu claimed that Atiku is now manipulating former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi into thinking only he (Atiku) has the numbers in the North to win elections.
“If the former Vice President says my assertions are not true and that all he wants is a better Nigeria, I challenge him to publicly declare that equity demands that the presidency should stay in the South for another six years. Support any southern candidate of your choice,” he said.
He warned that the ADC is “not for sale” and “not an old people’s home,” calling the attempted takeover “a war of the old for the old” that has no place in a progressive platform like the ADC.
“In the ADC, Nigeria and Nigerians will always remain our objective,” Kachikwu declared. “We are a party that believes Nigeria needs fresh faces, fresh ideals, and fresh ideas.”
With tensions rising in the party and accusations flying, political watchers say the coming days will determine whether the ADC survives what is being described as an “internal coup” or emerges more fractured ahead of 2027.
Kachikwu ended his address with a rallying call to members across the country: “This is not the ADC way.”
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