Ex-ADC Chair Nwosu recounts how party leaders “stood firm and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ We are determined to put our democracy first”
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
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“Some people tried to discourage us with promises of automatic ministerial appointments.
“They wanted to give me three ministerial slots so that I can take one and give two to others that I choose. But I said no. I chose a democratic future for Nigeria.
“Nigeria cannot be a one-party state after all we did to ensure the military exited governance.
“The ADC is now the party with the largest membership. We have 28 Senators and more than 60 members of the House of Representatives. Nigerians have shown that they detest what the party in government is doing right now.”
“We were very careful with the kind of people we are choosing to lead the party. Our constitution says all elected members, serving and non-serving, are NEC members.
“We were worried by the declining fortunes of our democracy. But we insist on the coalition in the best interest of Nigeria ….
“While some individuals or one party try to turn Nigeria into a one-party state, a fascist state, it was only the ADC that said, No. Our party, the ADC, stood firm. And Nigerians embraced us for that.
“No matter how much money you spend, you can’t fight all Nigerians. Some politicians, opportunistic as they, are believe it’s all about money. They say, ‘if you can’t get them with this amount, just add more.’
“But in the ADC, especially among the NWC members, we said, No. We rejected every offer, both in Nigeria and abroad, over the past year.
“ADC leaders stood firm and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ We are determined to put our democracy first. Our democracy is back on track. And you know what? We are expanding everywhere because of competence” – Nwosu.
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Former African Democratic Congress (ADC) National Chairman Ralph Nwosu has disclosed how “some people”, apparently in President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress (APC), offered him bribes of substantial cash and three ministerial jobs to reject transforming ADC into a coalition opposition party.
Nwosu made the disclosure at the ADC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Tuesday evening in Abuja, where the party officially handed over its leadership to interim Chairman David Mark, former Senate President.
The meeting also affirmed former Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola as ADC National Secretary.
Nwosu told party leaders, including members of the National Working Committee (NWC), National Executive Council (NEC), and the Board of Trustees (BoT), that he and others in the top brass rejected the bribes in order to preserve Nigeria’s democracy.
He disclosed that NWC and NEC members stepped down voluntarily to allow a smooth takeover by the coalition.
Nwosu added: “Some people tried to discourage us with promises of automatic ministerial appointments.
“They wanted to give me three ministerial slots so that I can take one and give two to others that I choose. But I said no. I chose a democratic future for Nigeria.
“Nigeria cannot be a one-party state after all we did to ensure the military exited governance.
“The ADC is now the party with the largest membership. We have 28 Senators and more than 60 members of the House of Representatives. Nigerians have shown that they detest what the party in government is doing right now.
“We were very careful with the kind of people we are choosing to lead the party. Our constitution says all elected members, serving and non-serving, are NEC members.
“We were worried by the declining fortunes of our democracy. But we insist on the coalition in the best interest of Nigeria.
“We have taken these steps so that Nigerian democracy can return to the right path.
“While some individuals or one party try to turn Nigeria into a one-party state, a fascist state, it was only the ADC that said, No. Our party, the ADC, stood firm. And Nigerians embraced us for that.
“No matter how much money you spend, you can’t fight all Nigerians. Some politicians, opportunistic as they, are believe it’s all about money. They say, ‘if you can’t get them with this amount, just add more.’
“But in the ADC, especially among the NWC members, we said, No. We rejected every offer, both in Nigeria and abroad, over the past year.
“ADC leaders stood firm and said, ‘Enough is enough.’ We are determined to put our democracy first. Our democracy is back on track. And you know what? We are expanding everywhere because of competence.
“If you go to every local government in this country – whether it’s in the North, Southeast, Southwest, North Central, Northeast, or Northwest – the number of people registering every day exceeds that of any other party.
“Our website crashed three times because of the number of young people trying to register online.
“It will take a little re-engineering of our hearts, minds, and souls to get it right – and all of that is encapsulated in the ADC.
“Navigating the process that brought us here, what we did on July 1st [adopting ADC as opposition coalition] was one of the toughest processes. But we did it together: NWC members, NEC members, and BoT members.
“We’ve gone from being a party that struggled to win five House of Representatives, seats we won about five or six, but three were lost at the tribunal, and we ended up with two.
“Now, that same party, because of clear steps taken is running for Nigeria and for our democracy, we all agreed to do everything possible.
“Today, your party [through defection from other parties] has over 100 elected persons, even without an election. About 28 Senators and 46 House of Representatives members.
“The number of State House of Assembly members we have is hard to count, but they are over 50.”
Mark thanked ADC leaders for the confidence reposed in him, and pledged to serve the party with integrity, transparency, courage, and vision.
“I assure you that under my leadership, we shall be committed to full democratic practices and principles that abhor imposition and special privileges. Internal democracy, transparency and accountability will be our mantra,” he said.
“We will guarantee collective leadership at all levels. We will build a technically competent bureaucracy for the party and ensure a structured financing. All members will truly own the party.
“We will be fair and just to all party members. We promise to be totally transparent. ADC will have zero tolerance for anti-party and other forms of indiscipline.
“We shall revamp our grassroots leadership structures to reflect modern realities. From the polling units, wards, up to the national level, every organ will be re-energised.”
Mark urged Nigerians to join the ADC, stressing that it is the only political platform that offers equal opportunities to all, regardless of age, gender, religion, or region.
“We will open the gates for the next generation. Our policies, nominations, and leadership roles will reflect meaningful inclusion of youths and women and not just tokenism.
“This is why we have reserved 35 per cent of our leadership positions for women. It is also our commitment to have youths below the age of 40 years in our leadership.
“Within the shortest possible time, the NWC will raise committees to review the manifesto and the constitution of our party to meet and reflect the aspirations of the Nigerian people.
“We shall clearly articulate what we stand for. Nigerians must know us as a party driven by unblemished ideology, progressive policies, and patriotic governance. We will not leave it to the discretion of individual candidates to choose what to do with power.
“Therefore, in the coming days, we shall announce a 50-member Policy Committee to cover health, education, agriculture, good technology, security, economy, infrastructure and other services.”
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