The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has announced a three-pronged strategy to challenge what he called a “hostile takeover” of the party’s leadership by a rival faction.

He noted that despite being subjected to threats and online harassment by unnamed individuals and social media trolls following his stance on the party’s latest internal crisis, he remains undeterred.

Kachikwu also disclosed that he had rejected overtures from members of the opposition coalition against President Bola Tinubu as far back as last year. 

According to him, the talks collapsed when the coalition promoters rejected presenting a southern candidate as the coalition’s standard bearer, an arrangement he believes is necessary to complete the South’s turn in the power rotation currently occupied by President Tinubu.

He added that even if the coalition eventually agrees to present a southern candidate and formally approaches the ADC, the party would still conduct a primary election. 

This, he stressed, would ensure that all interested party members have a fair opportunity to contest for the ticket alongside the coalition’s preferred aspirant.

Dumebi spoke at a media parley in Abuja on Thursday, flanked by seven state chairmen from Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, Borno, and Jigawa States, as well as the party’s national spokesman, all of whom he said were arbitrarily removed from their positions through a social media announcement by the rival group.

“These so-called common Nigerians have safeguarded this party for years. Yesterday (Wednesday), they were simply chased out of their offices online. That is not what they signed up for,” he regretted.

Dumebi said his camp will formally petition the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), explore legal redress through the courts, and rally the support of grassroots party members across Nigeria to resist the undemocratic hijack.

“All options are on the table. INEC as the regulator, the courts as the last hope of the common man, and the Nigerian people as witnesses,” he said.

According to Kachikwu, the first step is to demand that INEC clarify who currently occupies the position of party chairman. 

If a leadership vacuum is confirmed, he said, the ADC State caucus, composed of elected chairmen, will immediately convene a national convention to elect new officers and restore order to the embattled party.

“We’re asking INEC: Is there a chairman in this party, or is there a vacuum? If there is, then we need to convene a convention immediately to elect new leadership. That’s our pathway to resolving this crisis,” he said 

Kachikwu emphasized that the chairmen in his camp were elected at the party’s April 2022 convention, with valid mandates running until April 2026. 

“They were not appointed on WhatsApp or Facebook. They were elected by the people,” he pointed out.

Speaking further on whether his faction would go to court, Kachikwu confirmed that legal action is under serious consideration. 

“Yes, the option of court is absolutely on the table. We are exploring all avenues, and we will not rest until this injustice is reversed.”

He faulted INEC for previously tolerating parallel structures within the party under former interim chairman Ralph O. Nwosu, accusing the electoral body of enabling confusion. 

“For three years, INEC allowed Nwosu to appoint parallel chairmen. We’re now asking the same INEC to clarify who leads ADC. This time, they must act,” he said.

Kachikwu faulted the abrupt announcement of a new interim chairman by the rival faction, who allegedly received his ADC membership card during the very event where he was named leader.

“In a democratic society, how does it make sense that someone is made interim chairman and given his party card at the same event? That’s not a merger. That’s a hijack,” he stressed.

The former presidential candidate said he had previously engaged with coalition advocates, including former Ministers and senior political figures, but ended all talks when it became clear the arrangement was designed to return Atiku Abubakar to power.

“I asked a simple question, do you agree that since Tinubu is in his first term, the South should produce the flag bearer in 2027? Their immediate response was, ‘We are taking our power back.’ That was a red flag”.

He rejected any arrangement that discounts southern participation in future leadership, calling it a return to recycled leadership and ethnic-based politics.

“Imagine my situation, someone who came fifth in the last presidential race and I’m told that because I’m from the South, I should foreclose my ambition. That was an absolute no-no,” he added.

Issuing a direct challenge, Kachikwu said, “Let them declare publicly that the next flag bearer will come from the South. If they do, I’ll welcome them through the front door. 

“But we all know they won’t, because this is a coalition designed for Atiku, and that’s a betrayal of balance and equity.”

Kachikwu also lamented the rise of what he called “toxic social media politics,” which he said is foreign to the ADC’s values. 

“APC, PDP, Labour Party, these are parties where all they do is insult and threaten each other online. That’s not who we are. We are decent people.”

Since rejecting the faction’s legitimacy, Kachikwu said he has been targeted with threats, online abuse, and even preemptive media attacks. 

He referenced an article reportedly in the works by Peoples Gazette, alleging unresolved U.S. tax issues

“For those who believe I can be bullied, you are the vocal minority. Politics in Nigeria must move away from threats and blackmail. You cannot cow people on social media.

“If you believe that threats or blackmail will move me, you’re making a big mistake. Maybe Kachikwu is the last person anyone can cow.”

He also criticized the media for failing to properly label the opposing camp as a faction, warning that misleading headlines can distort the political narrative.

“When I became our candidate in 2023, the media focused only on four names, Atiku, Tinubu, Obi, and Kwankwaso. You told Nigerians the rest of us didn’t matter. The media can make or mar a nation,” he said.

He, however, insisted that despite the turmoil, he remained confident in the resilience of his camp, which includes several elected chairmen who helped take the ADC to fifth place in the 2023 general elections.

“Our party is worth fighting for. We won’t give up, no matter the threats, no matter the pockets behind them. We’re ready for the long haul.”