…Amaechi dumps APC
…Coalition not strategic- Analyst
David Mark, national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), on Wednesday, said the party has come to rescue Nigeria and return power to the people.
Mark, while speaking at a meeting meant to adopt the ADC as the main platform for the 2027 general election, said: “The time is now.”
According to him, “The mission is clear: Rescue Nigeria. Rebuild Nigeria. Return power to the people.”
The adoption of the ADC as a platform marks the end of the struggle by the coalition group to get a party under which they will work to attempt to win the 2027 general election.
The group is already being dominated by the Atiku Abubakar-led faction of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is also wooing the Obidient group in the Labour Party.
“Let it be known to all, that this coalition of national political opposition groups goes beyond gaining political power. It is a concerted effort to rebuild the crumbling pillars of Nigeria’s democracy,” Mark said.
“It is on record that within two years of the current administration coming to power, it has hijacked all democratic institutions and sent our country on a creeping descent into total civilian dictatorship.
“The blatant destabilisation and infiltration of all major opposition political parties is aimed at achieving only one objective, which is to enhance total state capture and leave Nigerians with no alternative or options in 2027. This coalition is to prevent our country’s descent into a one-party state.
“We have never seen a government so much at home with corruption, a government that disdains accountability in all ramifications, a government more concerned with the next election rather than the survival of the ordinary Nigerians.
“We have never seen a government so totally consumed with politicking that governance is abandoned, while the majority of our people wallow in hunger and poverty.
He also berated the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for caging the legislature, which he described as ‘disturbing.’
“What is also disturbing is the total emasculation of the legislative institution. Never in our history have we witnessed a National Assembly where legislators, the trustees of the very bastion of our democracy, saddled with the sacred duty to protect Nigerians from misuse of executive power, are reduced to cheerleaders and praise singers of the president, head of the executive arm.
Read also: Coalition: Atiku, El-Rufai, Mark, Amaechi move to register ADA
“Without doubt, the transformation of Nigeria’s National Assembly to a mere appendage of presidential authority is a dangerous conspiracy against the Nigerian people. It is the reason why the government is able to get away with various whimsical, unconstitutional policies and actions or inactions that have reduced more Nigerians to abject poverty and widened the boundaries of insecurity and fear.
“It is imperative to state that our democracy has a history, which is the reason why we all affirm that the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain. Today, the labour of our heroes is under vicious attack and our Republic faces a mortal danger. This coalition is therefore for all Nigerians who share in our belief that all of us, the young and the old, man and woman, rich and poor, living with disabilities or not, town dwellers or villagers, we all have the patriotic duty to save our country.”
He called on all Nigerians finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet to join the coalition.
“To all those citizens who believe that Nigeria’s democracy is worth fighting for, this coalition is for you.
“To all youths who face uncertain future and have questioned the value of their education and their certificates, this coalition is for you.
“To all our brothers and sisters in Benue, Niger, Plateau, Zamfara, Sokoto, Borno, Katsina, Kaduna, Edo, parts of the South East, South West, South-South who live under constant fear of violence and terror, who have lost a father, a mother, a child, a husband, a wife, this coalition is for you.
“To all our citizens, who believe that they deserve better, who have been promised much and given so little, for whom renewed hope has turned to renewed hopelessness, this is your coalition and we welcome you all to join us and be a part of this historic rescue mission.”
He assured that the coalition is determined to offer Nigerians a path to security, prosperity, peace and progress.
On why the coalition chose the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mark said the decision was taken after “extensive deliberations, and discussions, which spanned several months with deserving platforms.”
Amaechi leaves APC
Meanwhile, Chibuike Amaechi, former minister of transportation, resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday, alleging that the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are working together to hijack the 2027 elections.
Speaking in Abuja at the unveiling of the ADC yesterday, the former Rivers State governor said Nigeria has been completely destroyed.
“People can’t eat. People can’t buy food. There’s no money to buy food. Everything is gone. Inflation is at its peak,” he said.
Coalition not strategic enough
Okey Ikechukwu, executive director of Development Specs Academy, said: “You cannot have a coalition of people who are not only disgruntled, but all of them have had very disturbing relationships with each other in the past, have ideological differences, and nearly all of them are angling for the position—who will step down for the other.”
