Dele Momodu, a known ally of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has met with Dumebi Kachikwu, the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Momodu shared photos of the meeting via his Instagram account on Friday, though the details of the discussions were not disclosed.
The meeting comes just days after the official unveiling of the ADC as the political platform for the new opposition coalition. At the launch held in Abuja on Wednesday, political heavyweights, including Labour Party’s Peter Obi, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Rivers governor Rotimi Amaechi, and others, declared their alignment with the coalition.
Former Senate President David Mark and former Osun governor Rauf Aregbesola were named interim chairman and secretary of the ADC-led bloc.
However, Kachikwu has since accused the group of hijacking the ADC and structuring the alliance to favour Atiku as the 2027 presidential flag bearer.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Kachikwu alleged that the coalition was not built on ideology or equity, but on a quest to reclaim power for a specific region.
“Late last year they approached me concerning this coalition. Eventually, early this year, I agreed to have a meeting with them; a close friend of mine persuaded me to go for a meeting and hear these people out,” Kachikwu said.
“I went for this meeting that had former ministers, former highly placed person in the last government, and they presented their case to me: the need for a coalition. Everything they said was about Bola Ahmed Tinubu and how his government has destroyed Nigeria.”
He continued: “But I had only one question, because in opposition, you have only one ambition: for you to be the ruling party. So, for us as a party, our plan is how, in the next election, we can win the elections, or we can ensure that we have more people from the party emerge in various offices across the country.”
“So, if somebody wants to speak about coalition and how to achieve this, we are willing to listen.”
Kachikwu challenged the David Mark-led ADC to clarify its stance on zoning and regional balance, especially following eight years under President Buhari and the current term of President Tinubu.
“But I had one question, and my question was this: seeing that we just finished eight years of President Buhari and that President Tinubu is in his first term, and that you people here, you old politicians that practice a politics of north and south, of regions, do you agree and accept that, if there is a coalition, the south is in its first term and that the south will produce the flag bearer of this coalition? And the response—not considered, immediate response—was, We are taking our power back.”
Kachikwu described the coalition’s approach as exclusionary and unfair.
“Now imagine my situation as someone who was the presidential flag bearer of a party that came fifth in the last elections. You are saying to me that I cannot aspire to office, that I should foreclose my ambition, that because I happen to be from the south of Nigeria and that there is a presumed majority from the north of Nigeria, that you will take your power back.”
“So that’s a question for me, and that was an absolute no-no for me, and that ended every talk about coalition, because it was very clear that the coalition was engineered to produce Atiku Abubakar as its flag bearer.”
“Now, I still say this today: I’m throwing this challenge to this coalition today, to make a pronouncement today that the flag bearer of this coalition will be someone from the southern part of Nigeria so that the second term of the southerners will be finished. Make that statement a categorical statement and we’ll admit you through the front door and say that there is a conversation to be had.”
