ADC suspends presidential candidate Kachikwu with five months until the election

Dumebi Kachikwu, the African Democratic Congress’s (ADC) presidential candidate, has been expelled from the organization. This information was released in a statement yesterday by Dr. Bamidele Ajadi, the party’s deputy national chairman for politics. Kachikwu quickly responded, though, and said that he would continue to be the party’s nominee for president in the general election in 2023. The suspension of Kachikwu has also been deemed void by the state chairmen of ADC.
ADC charged Kachikwu with producing and disseminating videos that were false, misdirected, and defamatory.
According to Ajadi, the choice was made following a National Working Committee (NWC) emergency meeting on Friday, September 2, 2022.
He stated that the NWC was adamant that smearing the reputation of the ADC’s founders and funders smacked of crude irresponsibility, egregious indifference, deceitful scandalization, and extortion, and was wholly inappropriate for someone who wanted to be Nigeria’s president. The party pointed out that the NWC had previously ignored a number of actions, writings, and statements meant to disparage the ADC national officers in order for peace to prevail.
It added: “The NWC viewed with great concern the baseless and defamatory video made, published and circulated by Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu, which was intended to disparage and impugn the integrity and image of a peaceful and transformation-oriented African Democratic Congress and its national officers.”The party also observed that Kachikwu’s speech in the said video contravened the principles and values upon which ADC was founded and the specific provision of Article 16 of the ADC constitution.
Quoting the party’s constitution, Ajadi said: “Act(s) conduct or utterances likely to bring the party into hatred, contempt or ridicule; engaging in dishonest practices, defrauding the party, its members or officials; engaging in anti-party activities; unauthorised publicity of party dispute or fractionalisation or creating parallel party organ(s) at any level; engaging in any other activities likely to cause disaffection among Party members or likely to disrupt the peaceful, lawful and efficient conduct of party business; belonging to any such factional group or organ; collusion or conspiracy to convene unauthorised meetings, shall constitute acts of gross misconduct.”
Ajadi also observed that the NWC strongly believes that demeaning the character of the founders and financiers of ADC smacks of gross indiscipline.“His negative actions and/or inactions so far, have put in jeopardy the fate and prospects of all our candidates contesting for various offices across the country.“The committee of the whole house, in a very clear and unequivocal term, condemned the said video in its entirety and described it as a piece of badly crafted blackmail and mudslinging, and thereby unanimously recommended his immediate suspension from the party from today, Friday, September 2, 2022.“This resolution would be forwarded to the National Executive Council for further actions.”
Reacting to the suspension Kachikwu said the “illegal” constituted National Working Committee (NWC) lacks the power to suspend him.He also said that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party is set to appoint an Interim Caretaker Committee to run the affairs of the party after the expiration of the Ralph Nwosu-led National Working Committee (NWC) on August 28.The presidential candidate explained that the chairman of the party initially asked people to speak with him on his plan to extend the tenure of the NWC by one year, which he declined.
“He has asked everyone to speak with me that I should give him a one-year extension and I said to him that’s absolutely out of the question”, Kachikwu said. To perfect his plans, Kachikwu alleged that Nwosu called the NEC meeting, but barred the state chairmen from attending the meeting where his tenure was extended.
Also, the state chairmen of ADC have declared that the suspension of Kachikwu, as null and void.State chairmen of the party, however, told a news conference in Abuja yesterday that a National Working Committee (NWC) whose tenure had elapsed could not suspend the candidate.
They said the tenure of the NWC lapsed in August.Addressing the news conference, Mr Kingsley Ogga, Chairman of Forum of State Chairmen of ADC noted that the NWC had earlier convened a “fake and kangaroo’’ National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on August 26.
He said the fake NEC meeting lacked the constitutional requirement of seven days’ notice to be held.“The said meeting was overcrowded with unknown persons and miscreants. State chairmen walked out of the meeting as non-NEC members were seated in large numbers.
“The purpose of the illegal meeting is best known to the National Chairman, the National Secretary and other members of the NWC.“The said purpose was revealed when the fake meeting purportedly extended the tenure of the NWC.“It is, therefore, important to state here that what transpired on Aug. 26 at the ADC secretariat was fake, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect,’’ Ogga said.
He called on INEC to disregard the illegal suspension of Kachikwu and prevail on ADC to convene to elect a new NWC.

GOGAN Media.