Dumebi Kachikwu, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has announced a three-pronged strategy to challenge the party’s internal leadership crisis. He alleges that a rival faction is attempting a “hostile takeover” of the party.
Kachikwu, who was flanked by seven state chairmen and the party’s national spokesman, criticized the abrupt announcement of a new interim chairman by the rival group. He described the move as undemocratic and a hijack.
“We’re asking INEC: Is there a chairman in this party, or is there a vacuum? If you confirm a leadership vacuum, we will convene a national convention to elect new officers and restore order to the party,” he said.
Kachikwu emphasized that the chairmen in his camp were elected at the party’s April 2022 convention, with valid mandates running until April 2026. “They were not appointed on WhatsApp or Facebook. They were elected by the people,” he pointed out.
The former presidential candidate faulted INEC for tolerating parallel structures within the party under former interim chairman Ralph O. Nwosu. He accused the electoral body of enabling confusion.
Kachikwu also revealed that he had previously engaged with coalition advocates, but ended talks when it became clear that the arrangement was designed to return Atiku Abubakar to power. “I asked a simple question: Do you agree that since Tinubu is in his first term, the South should produce the flag bearer in 2027? Their immediate response was, ‘We are taking our power back.’ That was a red flag,” he said.
The ADC crisis has sparked a heated debate, with Kachikwu vowing to challenge the “hostile takeover” through legal means, INEC, and grassroots party members. “All options are on the table. INEC as the regulator, the courts as the last hope of the common man, and the Nigerian people as witnesses,” he said.