Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu has dismissed the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as irrelevant, describing its members as “Kwashiorkor politicians” with no chance of winning power.

Speaking in Calabar after receiving the endorsement of repentant members of the former Bakassi Defence Force for his 2027 re-election, Otu said the ADC represents nothing but distraction.

“They call themselves ADC. They are nothing more than detractors, a distraction! They can’t take Cross River back to Egypt,” he said.

The governor also criticised the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), branding it another “sickly group” incapable of offering solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.

Otu, however, pledged that his People’s First administration would uphold democratic principles, stressing that dissenting voices would not be silenced. “Democracy guarantees freedom of expression and association,” he added.