ADC state chairmen divided over accommodation of new entrants

Crisis may be brewing in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over how the new joiners should be accommodated in the party.

There are reports that the coalition leaders might have settled for the ADC rather than the Social Democratic Party (SDP). which was initially considered to be their platform of choice.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, the Ogun State Chairman of the ADC, Dr Femi Soluade, said there was a need to give a sense of belonging to the potential new members, adding that tinkering with the party executives was part of the arrangement.

“There has been realignment, re-engineering and, of course, repositioning of the party right from the National Chairman, Secretary and some other national officers to make the coalition work,” he stated.

Soluade said, “We are doing some fixtures at the regional and state levels to accommodate the interests of more than six blocs forming the coalition, whereas the ADC bloc is the senior partner with the allocation of a certain percentage.”

In Rivers State, the leadership of the ADC expressed a willingness to allow newcomers to take up leadership positions.

The ADC Chairman, Lawrence Egbagiri, said, “For the sake of the country, we are willing to relinquish our offices, and the party is glad about it.”

Similarly, the Niger State Chairman of the party, Musa Hassan, said the state was also willing to relinquish positions for the new members.

“But that should be after a resolution based on the national convention of the ADC,” he added.

The Bauchi State ADC Chairman, Hassan Haruna, maintained that the state chapter would abide by the decision of the national leadership on party offices.

“Coalition means joining forces. Whatever notification we receive from the national leadership is what we are going to dwell on,” he stated.

The Kano State Chairman of the ADC, Musa Ungogo, and his counterpart in Kaduna State, Ahmed Tijjani, said they were also willing to give their offices to the new joiners.

Ungogo explained that the party’s symbol, a handshake, represented the coming together of people from different backgrounds to build a greater Nigeria.

“Our party has been in existence for 21 years, and it’s growing daily. We cannot turn away people of high calibre who want to join us,” he added.

Similarly, the Kebbi State ADC Chairman, Hauwa’u Muhammed, said the national leadership would determine the direction to take on the party offices.

“The national leadership of our party holds the four aces. If they ask us to relinquish our positions to the new entrants, we will, if it will take our party to greater heights,” she said.

Also, a Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, Nafiu Bala, disclosed that there was a decision by the party’s leadership to step aside in favour of incoming members.

Nafiu, in an interview with Sunday Punch in Gombe, said the state leadership collectively agreed to relinquish their positions in the interest of party unity, renewal, and progress.

Meanwhile, some state chairmen of the party held different views on how the new joiners should be accommodated. 

According to report by Sunday Punch, the Osun State ADC Chairman, Charles Omidiji, said no defector would be allowed to displace the current leadership in the state.

He, however, declared that his executives were willing to negotiate and concede some positions to properly integrate newcomers.

Omidiji said, “Why would anyone come into the party and displace us? Who will receive the defectors? It is us. Let people defect to our party, but to hold the view that they will come in and displace us, that will not happen. But if we have to negotiate, it will be a give-and-take situation. We will take some positions and leave some for those coming in, but we can’t welcome the idea of one person or group taking all the positions. It will be shared equally.”

Also, the ADC Chairman in Plateau State, Sabiu Musa, said the party was not ready to hold a congress to allow newcomers to take positions immediately.

He encouraged new joiners to contest positions during the next congress of the party if they wished to be part of the executives.

Musa said, “Why are we not going to incorporate new joiners? Our doors are wide open for that. But we are not ready to hold any congress at the moment to change the leadership and allow newcomers to take positions.”

Echoing a similar view, the Delta State ADC Chairman, Austin Okolie, insisted that it was impossible to change the party leadership because of the coalition.

He said, “If you change leadership, it means you want to replace the people who have laboured for the party. You can’t change the people who have laboured for the party. If not for the people who kept it, you wouldn’t have met it for a coalition. So, when you are coming, you queue up with the present leadership; we harmonise and everybody will put hands together for the victory of the party.”

Also, the ADC National Vice Chairman, South-East, Chilos Godsent, said it would be unfair for new members to take all party positions.

He warned that any act of imposition or impunity would cause internal rancour and weaken the party.

“It is very undemocratic if the newcomers request or impose conditions that the existing ward, local government, state, and zonal executive committee members relinquish all the positions for the newcomers without mutual internal restructuring of the party offices on a win-win basis,” he said.

In his comment, the Chairman of the ADC in Benue State, Celestine Orbunde, said new members would not be allowed to make old members feel useless.

“One thing I know is that the new members cannot just come and say they want to take over everything completely, as if the old members don’t know how to build a party. There has to be an understanding among the members, both old and new. Whether the old members will allow a congress to change the party leadership lies with the national leadership.”

Similarly, the Gombe ADC Chairman, Auwal Barde, rejected what he described as pressure to relinquish seats for newcomers, saying while the state leadership welcomed progressive coalitions, it would not step aside for new entrants.

“We welcome any positive coalition that will uplift our party, but we won’t hand over leadership to newcomers who barely understand our history and struggle,” he said.

The chairman insisted that leadership changes should follow due process and not be imposed under political arrangements.