Olu Samuel
A support group of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, known as Grassroots Mobilization Network (GMN) has said that President Tinubu’s remarks while hosting renewed hope ambassador at the presidential villa,Abuja was a confirmation that he is behind the crisis currently rocking that African Democratic Congress.
A statement issued and made available to newsmen in the early hours of Sunday by the Idris Bala ,the Secretary, Grassroot mobilisation network of ADC stated that the President’s remarks showed that he had a hard in the crisis of the party.
Bala said “President Tinubu, among other things, alleged that former Vice President Atiku “wanted to privatize the ADC, but the owners said no.” In the same breath, Tinubu advised that “as a democrat, people should obey court orders and the law.”
He said that”These statements, coming from the nation’s highest office, are deeply disturbing and troubling. They confirmed what Nigerians have long suspected, that the Presidency is behind the ADC Crisis and that the Presidency is not a mere spectator but an active player in the troubles rocking viable opposition parties, including the ADC.
On the alleged “privatization” claim, the support group states that without equivocation, the ADC is not a personal estate that can be privatized or auctioned. Rather, our party , ADC, is a duly registered political party owned by millions of Nigerians across the 36 states and the FCT.
The party’s leadership at all levels emerged through processes consistent with the ADC Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC guidelines, and the 1999 Constitution as amended.
The President’s claim is, therefore, misleading and beneath the dignity of his office.
On obeying the judiciary, orders, and the law, we agreed entirely. It is precisely because the ADC respects the rule of law that we rejected contrived crises and politically sponsored impostors deployed to destabilize the opposition parties.
President Tinubu’s remarks evoked the biblical analogy, “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau.”
It is imperative to also draw the attention of Nigerians to the anecdotes and gestures of the President to legal issues being awaited in the courts.
The accompanying remarks tend toward a suspicion to influence the judiciary against the ADC’s cases currently before the courts, as President Tinubu only came short of pronouncing judgements on such matters.
The support group wishes to remind the President that our country has not yet turned so banal.
Nigerians can recall that less than a year to the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso freely adopted the Labour Party and NNPP platforms to contest the presidency. The late President Muhammadu Buhari, despite political differences, did not deploy state machinery to manufacture baseless legal landmines to obstruct them.
Today, the pattern has changed. After the 2023 elections, individuals like Lamidi Apapa emerged from nowhere to lay claim to the Labour Party.
Similar scripts are now being replicated across opposition parties. The President’s comments lend credence to the growing belief that these crises are engineered to weaken dissent and pave the way for a one party system.” He said.
The group therefore, calls on President Tinubu to live by his own counsel and be a democrat in deed, not just in words. The Presidency must not be weaponized to determine the ownership of opposition parties or to dictate their internal affairs.
“Democracy thrives on plurality, robust debate, and respect for the choices of party members.
The ADC remains one united family under its legitimate national leadership. No amount of propaganda, sponsored crisis, or external interference will stop us from organizing, mobilizing, and offering Nigerians a credible alternative.
We urge Nigerians, the judiciary, civil society, the media, and the international community to take note of this dangerous slide. The ADC remains committed to the rule of law, internal democracy, and the rescue of Nigeria.” He noted.