The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has suspended Dumebi Kachikwu, its presidential candidate.
In a statement on Saturday, Bamidele Ajadi, ADC’s deputy national chairman, said the decision to suspend the candidate was taken at the party’s national executive committee (NEC) meeting that held on Friday.
Ajadi said since Kachikwu emerged standard bearer of the party, he has failed to come up with a strategy for the party’s presidential campaign activities due to commence soon.
This development came hours after Kachikwu supported the call for the resignation of Ralph Nwosu, the Chairman of his party. Ralph Nwosu has served as the National Chairman of the ADC for 17 years.
The statements put out by the ADC reads in part as follows:
“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,” ADC said in a statement.
“The NWC also noted that since the 9th of June 2022 when he was elected the presidential candidate, he has failed, neglected and/or refused to share with the party, any meaningful, constructive or reasonable Presidential Campaign Roadmap for the forthcoming presidential election,” Ajadi said.
“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 2nd September, 2022.
“This resolution would be forwarded to the National Executive Council for further actions.
“The NWC strongly believes that to demean the character of the founders and financiers of ADC, who have worked tirelessly to build an enviable brand that Nigerians are proud of, and which many great minds have stood elections; smacks of crass irresponsibility, gross indiscipline, disingenuous scandalization and blackmail, and completely unfit of someone who wants to be President of Nigeria.”
