Dumebi Kachikwu, 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has accused Atiku Abubakar, former vice president, of plotting to take over the party to advance his 2027 presidential ambition.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Kachikwu addressed the recent influx of prominent politicians into the ADC, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Nasir el-Rufai.

He alleged that Atiku, alongside other “political retirees”, manipulated party leaders into forming a coalition through “fraudulent means” with the aim of securing the ADC presidential ticket.

Kachikwu also claimed that Obi, who left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2022 to contest the 2023 presidency under the Labour Party (LP), is being influenced by Atiku.

To back what he described as the fears of some of Obi’s supporters, Kachikwu alleged that the former Anambra state governor is under pressure to accept the role of Atiku’s running mate.

“I had warned that a group of mostly old former political officeholders were executing a carefully orchestrated agenda to take over the ADC to prosecute Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition come 2027.

“I also warned that Peter Obi and other presidential hopefuls in this coalition of geriatrics were being duped, as Atiku’s men had been carefully positioned to take over the ADC party structure across the country,” he said.

“Today I have been proven right, as former governor Obi and his people now realise that this coalition is indeed a one-man power grab.

“Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a man who claims affinity and friendship with the south, does not believe any southerner deserves to be president of Nigeria.

“Former Presidents Obasanjo and Jonathan are alive to attest to this uncomfortable truth. In their desperation to hijack the ADC, they deliberately perpetrated fraud, of which I now present evidence to you today.”

Forgery Allegations And Leadership Dispute

Kachikwu accused Atiku of creating regional divisions by spreading falsehoods about President Bola Tinubu’s administration to northern audiences while undermining southern presidential aspirants.

“Atiku Abubakar and a few northern elites who have for decades held political power but did nothing to alleviate the undereducation and attendant impoverishment in northern Nigeria for political purposes are at it again.

“They have armed the weapons of region, religion, tongue, tribe and poverty as they convince millions of poor northerners that a southern President Tinubu hates them and is the cause of their poverty,” he said.

The ADC chieftain presented what he described as evidence of forged signatures on court documents involving state chairmen to validate Ralph Nwosu’s claim to the party’s chairmanship.

He also condemned the appointment of former Senate president David Mark as ADC chairman, calling it “fraud perpetrated in broad daylight”.

“To use the ADC, they needed to free it of all legal encumbrances, such as those challenging Ralph Nwosu’s fraudulent claim to the chairmanship of the party, and so they forged signatures of some of the chairmen who were not interested in the sale of the party and presented it to the court as terms of settlement, which the Court of Appeal adopted as judgement.

“I have here copies of said judgement and international passport copies of the chairmen whose signatures were forged; ladies and gentlemen of the press, please compare the signature specimens.

“Our lawyers have dispatched petitions to the appropriate law enforcement agencies on this. As if this was not bad enough, we all watched almost two months ago the comedic performance of Ralph Nwosu as he anointed David Mark as chairman of the ADC and at the same time presented him with a membership card of our party.

“I again warned Nigerians that this was fraud being perpetrated in broad daylight, as Nwosu had no legal mandate to anoint or appoint a chairman for our party,” Kachikwu said.