The presidential candidate of the ADC in the 2023 election, Dumebi Kachikwu, had accused the coalition of hijacking the party and not carrying stakeholders along.
However, Dalung, while recalling that talks about a coalition had been on for about 18 months, said key stakeholders of the ADC were carried along and they had also attended the unveiling ceremony.
“The chairman of the board of trustees of the party was in attendance. So, it wasn’t a hijack because the members of the party were there, and the coalition elements were there to witness the transition of leadership,” the former minister said on Thursday while answering questions on Channels Television’s Lunchtime Politics.
“He [Kachikwu] might not know the developments that had taken place. He might not be in touch with the party, and so not quite informed about what has happened. But then he had expressed his feelings about what had transpired. The party will have to deal with it because the party is under new leadership.”
The coalition was launched on Wednesday with a former Senate President, David Mark, announced as the interim chairman of the party while a former Minister of Interior and Osun governor, Rauf Aregbesola, was picked as the secretary. This followed a handing over by a former chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, at the event in Abuja.
In the aftermath of the handover, Kachikwu had alleged that the coalition was dealing with the wrong set of persons in the ADC. According to him, Nwosu’s tenure as the party chairman ended a long time ago.
He claimed that the members of the coalition were getting into the ADC via the backdoor, labelling them “people who destroyed Nigeria”.
“The manner in which they came—through the back door—shows you who they are. They are back-door people. I’m opposed to viruses and bacteria entering my party. People who destroyed Nigeria cannot claim to be the ones to fix it,” Kachikwu said on Wednesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
However, Dalung said the presence of members of the working committee of the ADC during the unveiling ceremony is enough validation of the genuineness of the coalition members.
“Other members of the national working committee of the party who resigned their positions yesterday were also in attendance,” he said on the lunchtime show.
“Except if he is saying that the party with which he contested the election — which this party chairman, who resigned, whom I knew personally as the chairman of that party for a very long time — he even told the history of how the party was built to what it is yesterday – and he gave his reasons for why he decided to resign.
“So, I think the word ‘hijacked’ might have been used to be more appealing. But in truth, there was a process. And if he was not aware of the process, then he was in a position to ask questions, just like he’s doing.”
Talks about a coalition had made headlines in the past months as millions of Nigerians grapple with biting hardship under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The coalition has several top politicians as members. X@ADCNig.
After a series of meetings, ADC was picked as the platform for the coalition, which includes a former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar; Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP); a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai; a former Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi, Dele Momodu, Senator Ireti Kingibe; a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Odigie Oyegun, among other heavyweights.
In his acceptance speech as the ADC interim national chairman, Mark said the coalition was on a mission to rescue Nigeria and rebuild its democracy.
He accused the ruling APC of attempting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state but promised that the coalition, with the support of Nigerians, would overturn the situation.
“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,” the former Senate president said.
“The mission is clear: Rescue Nigeria. Rebuild Nigeria. Return power to the people,” Mark added.
