Kassim Afegbua Faults ADC Takeover Process
Kassim Afegbua, Edo State Commissioner for Information, has reacted to the current leadership crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), saying the coalition process and moves by some individuals to take over the party are fundamentally flawed, news.ng reports.
Afegbua, who was on Channels Television’s programme Morning Brief on Friday, said the ADC were the architect of their own problem, questioning the legal backing adopted that led to the highly talked-about coalition.
Afegbua noted that all stakeholders in the party ought to have been duly consulted before it was sanctioned.
“The ADC shot itself in the foot when it was not able to properly take over a political party. Ab initio, they told us that they were building a coalition. They waited months on end, and they ended up, you know, taking over a party,” Afegbua stated.
“The process of taking over a party was spread out. If you say somebody resigned, somebody did not resign, one individual does not equate, you know, the length and breadth of a political party,” he said.
Reminiscing on the role he played that birthed the National Democratic Party (NDP) in 2002, the Edo State Commissioner emphasised the importance of carrying everyone along regarding the takeover of a political party.
On aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who have defected to the ADC, the Commissioner blamed them for their negligence.
“In 2002, we registered the National Democratic Party. I was a Foundation National Policy Secretary. From there, I became National Director General of the headquarters.
“When you are taking over a party, every gamut, all the organs of the party, every member must concur to the position being taken. Not the one that the chairman, we say he’s resigning, and he’s handing over to David Mark, who is no longer the chairman. He’s handing over to the deputy chairman,” Afegbua added.
“If he resigns, he’s still a member of the party. So, I think ADC chieftains who are aggrieved PDP members did not take due diligence of the processes of taking over a party,” he said.
Citing an example of how a proper party merger should take place, Afegbua explained, “Ifa party is merging, for example, there are criteria, there are conditions for me to merge, just like we did in APC.”
On the inconsistencies surrounding the party’s leadership during the tenure of Ralph Nwosu, he said, “From day one, it was stated that Ralph Nwosu had ceased to be the chairman of that party in 2022. There was a court verdict to that extent. So, if he was, you know, outlawed, so to speak, in 2022, and in 2025, there is still ruling on that Nwosu, then a lot of questions need to be asked.”
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