Chuks Okocha in Abuja

A  chieftain of the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kaduna state, Mallam Salihu Moh. Lukman, has raised the alarm over plot by some aspirants to hijack party structures against their perceived opponents. 

The ADC chieftain appealed to the former Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufai, among other leaders to unite the party ahead of 2027 general elections. 

Other leaders Lukman appealed to are  Mallam Jaafaru Sani, Alhaji Bashir Saidu and Senator Musa Bello. 

In a statement released yesterday  in Abuja, Lukman said the ‘madness’ of controlling structures of ADC is the biggest threat before the party ahead of 2027 general elections. 

The former Director -General of Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) said instead of working to build the party, “we are setting ourselves to produce a party whose business will be limited to presenting candidates for elections. People with ambition to contest elections have become restless and want to dominate the process of developing the structures of the party to the exclusion of their opponents.”

According to him, for whatever reasons, those of us who want the ADC to be an equal opportunity party are being condemned. Sadly, some of our leaders instead of providing fair leadership are taking side with strengthening aspiring candidates for 2027 elections across the state to the exclusion of others.

“I want to use the opportunity of this independence anniversary to appeal to all of us to stop this madness of trying to take over structures of ADC and control it to the exclusion of so called opponents. If ADC is to emerge as a strong party capable of defeating the APC in Kaduna State, we must agree to work together. Anybody who is not ready to work as part of a united opposition in Kaduna State is consciously or unconsciously working for APC.

“I am making this strong appeal with very deep feeling of disappointment that we are recklessly mismanaging an opportunity to provide the needed leadership to our people. In particular, I want to appeal to  Nasir El-Rufai, Mal. Jaafaru Sani and Alh. Bashir Saidu as opposition leaders in Kaduna State to please stop encouraging the madness of aspiring candidates seeking to take over structures of ADC to the exclusion of so-called opponents. 

“At individual level, I have tried to talk to those I can talk to. Unfortunately, I must also admit that I have failed in many respects. The fact that we have Sen. Musa Bello aggressively seeking to control structures of ADC in Zone 2 is a reflection of my failure. Largely because I am in recent times associated with Sen. Musa Bello, Sen. Lawal Adamu (Mr. La) has avoided all my request to meet him.

“I have met Mal. Jaafaru Sani on this matter. We have had some discussions with Mal. Nasir. Sincerely, I am saddened by the fact that we not united and the perception is that I am part of the problem. As a citizen from Kaduna State, I am willing to make every necessary sacrifice to move our state forward. I have no ambition to contest election. Without sounding immodest, I made every sacrifice to contribute to forming the coalition and negotiating the agreement with ADC.

“May I therefore appeal to Mal. Nasir and all our leaders to please seek to unite all of us. It is only if we are united in ADC that we can be able to unite our people in the state to defeat the APC in 2027. We must bear in mind, it is not just about defeating APC but more about producing a government controlled by our party (ADC) based on collective leadership. We need to put an end to the era when we produce emperors as Governors. Anything short of producing a  Goverment managed by collective leadership under ADC will be unacceptable.

“May God Almighty touch the heart of all us and guide us towards unity both within the ADC and in the state. Amin. Happy Independence  Anniversary.”

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