The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has endorsed Peter Obi, Labour Party presidential candidate for the Saturday poll.
The development is sequel to the formation of a grand coalition, which aims at propelling Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed for the nation’s top job.
Details shortly…
Former Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, on Wednesday led the governorship campaign rally ahead of the 2023 elections.
Amosun, who is a Senator elected under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also contested for the party’s presidential ticket.
As the candidate of the ADC in Ogun, Biyi Otegbeye, flagged off his campaign at the Ake Palace Square, Amosun stormed the venue at 1:49pm to the jubilation of many at the event.
Amosun had earlier said he would support the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, for the presidency but would support Otegbeye for governor.
Though the former governor was absent when Tinubu visited Abeokuta last week Wednesday, he is, however, the cynosure of all eyes at the ADC rally today.
Alhaji Ibrahim Manzo, a former National Vice Chairman, North-East, of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and 17 state chairmen have been suspended.
The party members were suspended for alleged anti-party activities and utterances aimed at bringing the ADC to disrepute.
In a statement jointly signed by the party’s National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu and National Secretary, Alhaji Said Abdullahi and released on Wednesday September 7, the party said the activities of the suspended officials contravene Article 15 of the party’s constitution.
The party also appointed Dr Mani Ahmed, a presidential aspirant in 2015, as Chairman of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT).
The statement read;
“The party’s former chairman in Abia was expelled; a replacement for the suspended state chairmen will be announced in due course.”
All ADC executives at the ward, local government and state levels were also asked to continue structuring the party at the grassroots for campaign take-off.
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, yesterday, said the South East region has completely collapsed economically.
ADC stated this in a statement signed by the South East ADC National Vice Chairman, Chilos Godsent and Zonal Secretary, Agumadu Frank, issued to newsmen in Owerri, after the ADC South East zonal meeting which they held in Enugu.
They said the decay in infrastructure and economic challenges was caused by the leadership ineptitude of the ruling class.
According to ADC, “It’s no longer news to everyone of us that has gathered here today that governance in the five states in South East is in a state of comatose and complete collapse.
“The five states in the South East zone cannot boast of any infrastructural development, neither can they boast of economic prosperity. Since the 1999 democratic experiments, governance in the five states of the South East has been dominated by political mediocrity characterized by leadership ineptitude and treacherous tendencies.
“The stock in trade of these political mediocre and rascals is to shamelessly loot the treasury of the state entrusted to them to a near state of bankruptcy. Thus, the aforementioned ruling class has consciously enforced the regime of poverty and impunity on the masses of the South East who have for many years now, been politically inactive.
“This leadership ineptitude and sheer corruption by the South East ruling class has drastically increased the militant agitation for self-determination by the youths of the zone which has driven the region into a hopeless state of insecurity, wanton killings, etc.
“The African Democratic Congress, ADC, South East zone, hereby condemns in its totality, the increasing state of insecurity and militarization in the region, characterized by banditry, kidnapping, ritual killings and other forms of criminalities currently ravaging the South East region because of the collapse of governance and leadership.
“This has no doubt set the region backwards in terms of investments and economic growth and development indices.”
Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu has resigned from the African Democratic Congress.
He left the party after losing the party’s presidential ticket to the founder of Roots Television, Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu.
In a letter dated June 13 and addressed to ADC’s National Chairman, Chief Okey Ralphs Nwosu, Moghalu said the presidential primary had been wrought with inconsistencies.
“I am writing to hand in my resignation from my membership of the African Democratic Congress, effective immediately,” Moghalu’s said in his letter.
“I have resigned because the process and conduct of the party’s presidential primary on June 8, 2022 at Abeokuta revealed a fundamental clash of values between me and your leadership of the party.
“Despite the circular you issued a few days to the primary committing the party to providing transportation and accommodation for delegates to and in Abeokuta, and which as we agreed would provide a level playing for all the presidential aspirants, the party under your leadership failed to do so. Some aspirants, including myself, made donations to the ADC party account as requested by the party for this purpose. This failure, which appeared intentional, created room for massive abuses of the electoral process including delegate capture and financial inducement of delegates. This is only one of numerous inconsistencies and the absence of transparency and predictability in the management of the party that I had progressively complained about.
“As you are well aware, I have consistently resisted pressures to join the APC or the PDP precisely to avoid “cash-and-carry” politics. For me to remain a member of the ADC therefore, after what thousands of party members participated in at Abeokuta, would be to endorse political corruption of a most obscene order.
“I joined the ADC in October 2021 with the best of intentions. Since then, I have put my entire team to work on growing and improving the party, including raising the party’s visibility on all media platforms, recruiting more than 10,000 new members to the party, and providing new offices for various state chapters of the party at my expense. It is deeply regrettable that other inducements appear to have played more important roles in determining the outcome of the primary than loyalty to the party.”
A former Deputy Governor of the CBN, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, on Tuesday, formally joined the 2023 presidential race after doling out the required N25m to obtain the presidential nomination and expression of interest forms of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
Moghalu told correspondents at the ADC national secretariat in Abuja that politics in Nigeria should be detribalised for the nation to grow and take its rightful place in the comity of nations.
He noted that competent leaders are found in all tribes and religions, adding that it was high time technocrats, intellectuals and experienced people took power from Nigeria’s career politicians.
Nevertheless, Moghalu insisted that the geo-political zones which were yet to produce the president of the country should be given the opportunity to do so come 2023.
He promised to tackle the challenges of insecurity, inflation and the wobbly education sector.
Moghalu said his first step to providing security for the nation would be to reform the police and increase the number of its operatives by 300 percent.
He said, “As president, I will reform the Nigeria Police Force. I will increase the police from 250,000 to one million operatives. It is through effective intelligence gathering that we can fight terrorism and win.
“We will take out whatever threatens the nation’s security, because the political will to secure Nigeria is there.”
Speaking on the state of the economy, the former CBN chief said that he would strengthen the leadership of the apex bank to achieve true independence, necessary for tackling the country’s hyperinflation.
“Inflation is the most act on the poor. It erodes the ability of households to save and devalues the purchasing power of the currency.
If there’s high inflation, then it is a performance failure. When I become the president, I will ensure we have an independent CBN with competent leadership,” he said.
Moghalu also said he would ensure that at least 20 percent of the country’s annual budget would be spent on education in order to revamp the sector and permanently end the recurring ASUU strike debacle.
Earlier, the ADC national chairman, Chief Ralph Okey Nwosu, said that with credible people joining the presidential race, Nigeria was on a march to greatness; adding that the country would become a global super-power only with competent leadership.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday presided over the National Security Council (NSC) meeting at the State House, Abuja.
The meeting is being attended among others by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari; National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd) and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Leo Irabor.
The three service chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force as well as the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, are also attending the meeting.
The President is expected to be briefed about latest security developments across the country.
Before the commencement of the meeting, President Buhari with the assistance of Vice President Osinbajo decorated his Aide De Camp (ADC), Lt Col Yusuf Mukhtar Dodo, with his new red neck rank of Collonel.
President Muhammadu Buhari presides over Security Council Meeting and Decorates his ADC to the rank of Colonel at the State House, Abuja.
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President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed the Academy Adjutant of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Lieutenant-Colonel Yusuf Muktar Dodo, as his new Aide-de-Camp (ADC).
Lt.-Col. Dodo is taking over from Colonel Mohammed Lawal Abubakar, who is proceeding to resume a promotion course, after which he would be promoted to the Brigadier-General rank, along with some others.
Although there is not likely to be an official release on the development to the media, sources within the Aso Rock Presidential Villa have confirmed it.
However, another dependable source in the Villa, who preferred to be kept anonymous, confirmed the report, citing the need for Colonel Abubakar to proceed on for a promotion course, as the reason.
“It’s true, the President’s ADC is going for a course, he’s due for the rank of Brigadier-General. He’s due to leave sometime in February, but a replacement has already been shortlisted”, the source said.
Also, a military source, who is conversant with Dodo, while confirming the development to The Nation in Abuja on Saturday, said: “I already called him to congratulate him. The news is real”.
