The 2023 Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President David Mark, and other members of the alliance for allegedly taking over the leadership of the party through a “back door.”

Describing them as “geriatrics, who are merely shopping around for a party to prosecute their ‘chopping must continue’ ambition,” Kachikwu criticised their claims of being on a “rescue mission” for ordinary Nigerians.

He also questioned how those who have presided over the country’s affairs for the past four decades—and have left nothing to show for their decades of leadership—can become the solution.

“What they have done was buy a bad market from Ralph Nwosu, whose tenure expired on August 21, 2022.
The tenure of the Nwosu-led executive lapsed on August 21, 2022, and his continued parade of himself as the chairman of the party was the subject of various litigations in different courts across the country.
Can you build something on nothing? Can you shave a man’s hair in his absence? Can you enter a man’s house through the back door and declare yourself the landlord?”

He added, “We are a nation lacking in the basics, whose majority are poor, but here we are, watching those who set our nation on fire saying they are the fire brigade. No, you are not.
You are a bunch of greedy and selfish old men who believe that political power is your birthright,” Kachikwu said.

He said that Nigerians yearned for a new Nigeria that thrives on meritocracy and de-emphasises tribe and religion.

“We dream of a nation that works for all Nigerians irrespective of region or religion. We want a nation whose laws and opportunities are equal to all men. We desire inclusiveness for all and social protections for the weak amongst us. Nigerians have never asked for much other than a leadership that truly cares. You have failed us and stand rejected by us,” he said.