Kachikwu-led ADC faction announces plans for National Convention

Dumebi Kachikwu-led faction of the African Democratic Congress has announced plans to convene a national convention and constitute an interim leadership to manage the party’s affairs.

This was disclosed by the spokesperson of the faction, Norman Obinna, on Tuesday during a media briefing after an emergency National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja.

Kachikwu was the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections.

According to Obinna, the meeting was attended by state chairmen and other NEC members, and was convened to address the party’s ongoing leadership crisis.

He added that one of the key outcomes of prior Alternative Dispute Resolution efforts was an agreement that the party would hold a national convention to produce a new leadership, a process he said has yet to be implemented nearly two years later.

“The key outcome of the ADR, which was signed by both parties, was that the ADC would inevitably go into a convention to produce a new leadership. This has not been done for almost two years,” he said.

He said the former national leadership under Ralph Nwosu attempted to unlawfully transfer control of the party to individuals who were not members, while also trying to sideline existing state chairmen.

The group disclosed that it has instituted two court cases challenging the legality of those actions, even before the recent position taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Citing what it described as the absence of a National Working Committee since August 2022, the faction maintained that the NEC remains the highest legitimate authority within the party.

Obinna outlined several resolutions reached at the meeting, including a formal disassociation from a rival coalition led by prominent political figures.

“We dissociate the ADC from David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, Bolaji Abdullahi and all members of the so-called coalition. All actions taken by them in the name of the ADC are not binding on the party,” he said.