A support group of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on the aegis of ‘Grassroots Mobilization Network (GMN)’ has stated that the Presidency must not be weaponized to determine the ownership of opposition parties or to dictate their internal affairs.
This was as the support group reminded President Tinubu that Nigeria has not yet turned so banal.
GMN-ADC which stated these while responding to the remarks by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday, in which he alleged that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar “wanted to privatize the ADC, but the owners said no,” described the presidential comment as outrightly misleading and beneath the dignity of his office.
The organisation particularly noted that the comment by Tinubu is a clear confirmation that the Presidency is behind the crisis in the ADC, stressing that such statements, coming from the nation’s highest office, are deeply disturbing and troubling.
GMN-ADC said that President Tinubu’s remarks evoked the biblical analogy; “The voice is Jacob’s, but the hands are Esau,” stressing that the comments by Tinubu confirmed what Nigerians have long suspected, that the Presidency is not a mere spectator, but an active player in the troubles rocking viable opposition parties, including the ADC.
These were contained in a statement by Idris Bala Musa, Secretary of the GMN-ADC in which he pointedly stated the ADC is not a personal estate that can be privatized or auctioned, adding that it is a duly registered political party owned by millions of Nigerians across the 36 states and the FCT.
The GMN-ADC said that it was compelled to respond to remarks made by President Tinubu while hosting the coordinators of his ill-fated “Renewed Hope Ambassadors” at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, during which he advised that “as a democrat, people should obey court orders and the law.”
The group said that ADC’s leadership at all levels emerged through processes consistent with the party’s Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC guidelines, and the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Commenting on the position of the President on “obeying the judiciary, orders, and the law:, the group said that it agreed entirely, emphasising that that is precisely because the ADC respects the rule of law, thus rejected contrived crises and politically sponsored impostors deployed to destabilize the opposition parties.
GMN-ADC further said; “It is imperative to also draw the attention of Nigerians to the anecdotes and gestures of the President to legal issues being awaited in the courts.
“The accompanying remarks tend toward a suspicion to influence the judiciary against the ADC’s cases currently before the courts, as President Tinubu only came short of pronouncing judgements on such matters,” it said.
“Nigerians can recall that less than a year to the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso freely adopted the Labour Party and NNPP platforms to contest the presidency. The late President Muhammadu Buhari, despite political differences, did not deploy state machinery to manufacture baseless legal landmines to obstruct them.
“Today, the pattern has changed. After the 2023 elections, individuals like Lamidi Apapa emerged from nowhere to lay claim to the Labour Party.
“Similar scripts are now being replicated across opposition parties. The President’s comments lend credence to the growing belief that these crises are engineered to weaken dissent and pave the way for a one-party system.
The group therefore, called on President Tinubu to live by his own counsel and be a democrat in deed, not just in words, stressing that democracy thrives on plurality, robust debate, and respect for the choices of party members.
It stated that the ADC remains one united family under its legitimate national leadership, insisting that “no amount of propaganda, sponsored crisis, or external interference” will stop the party from organizing, mobilizing, and offering Nigerians a credible alternative.
The GMN-ADC therefore urged Nigerians, the judiciary, civil society, the media, and the international community to take note of the dangerous slide, stressing that the ADC remains committed to the rule of law, internal democracy, and the rescue of Nigeria.
