Chief Ralph Nwosu is the founder and pioneer National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). In this interview monitored on Arise Television, he speaks on the adoption of the party by the opposition leaders and the chances of the party in 2027 General Election, among other issues, EVINCE UHUREBOR writes
Just tell us what you actually said at that NEC meeting regarding any inducements that the Tinubu government allegedly offered you something if you agreed not to transform the ADC into an opposition coalition platform?
Apart from what happened to myself and many members of the ADC, and we have so many, at the moment, it’s not only happening at the national level, it’s also happening at the state level, and so on, inducements and everything. As a matter of fact, what I did at our NEC meeting was to send a signal so that the presidency and people pretending to be democrats who are on the other side to be careful, because they are ruining our system, and we have struggled for that.
And if they’re not, we had a strategic meeting today, and we said we will start compiling documents. Let me tell you something. The chairman of Benue State, in the person of Elias Arugwu, today, he has about three policemen of ADC, has three policemen, some SSS people, guiding him, moving around, staying in the most luxurious hotels, just because to undo what we are working on, our coalition as well as we speak, the chairman of Nasarawa State, Alaku Godwin.
You mean the ADC chairman?
The ADC chairman in the state, he is also working on the same trajectory with the government. They have conscripted these people so that they can file a case in court. And I tell you something. Why are we doing this? This is a democracy and if you’re in government perform so that Nigerian people will love you and vote for you. The last thing I want to do here would be to come and be calling names. I don’t even want to get into that game, but I sent the last signal to them, and so on. As far as I’m concerned, having been in this political arena for a very long time, as a young man, even before I went to the university in the United States, I was a youth leader of UPN before I left for the US in 1979, and so on. So, we want our country to move forward. We are in a democratic setup. What I’ve said wouldn’t be new to any national party chairman as I speak to you today. So, people who can talk about the meddlesomeness of this government so that they can foist one political party system in this country are so many. But the issue now is having the courage to speak. And I just deliberately sent that signal, and if they don’t stay off, we are compiling the evidence.
You’ve made a very specific allegation against the government, which the government has been forced to come out to refute, and to challenge you to say who made those offers to you and what their positions in government are. What do you have to say?
I have heard the government refute that, but I’m not in confrontation with the government. What we are asking for is, let’s go to the ballot box. Why do you want to stop political parties? It’s not only ADC. What is happening with PDP is also happening to other parties. No, I understand that, but you’re speaking in broad terms, and I want to address your specific allegations. I mean, you were very specific. Three ministerial slots, one was to go to you, the other two to whoever you wanted to give it. I have calls, and I have meetings, and not only here in Nigeria.
But you’re not prepared to mention the name?
No, I will not.
Daniel Bwala has denied that the presidency offered any ministerial slots to you. He said that no government official can promise or grant ministerial slots except President Tinubu himself. What is your reaction to that?
Bwala, I wish you would come out and say what Elias Aduku, Alaku Godwin, and Mohammed Kala, are doing in big hotels, being protected by government, the people paid police.
You mean, are they now former ADC members, or they’re still members?
They are still carrying the cards of ADC, but the government is using them to even try to scuttle the things we’re doing.
What have they actually done to support this allegation that you’re making now and what have they done to support what you’re saying?
They have used them to go to court, to say that they don’t agree with the things we’re doing, therefore, it should be stopped. And they are being protected. We have pictures, and we know where they are.
And it’s laughable. A couple of them have reached out to me at least. There were five ADC people. Two of them reached out to me, and one was able to run away and write to say he’s withdrawing. He can no longer be coerced. The chairman of Niger State wrote to say, come, withdraw me from this case, and so on.
If I tell you what is happening in the coalition, it’s not just happening in Abuja, it’s happening across the country. People in the country are vexed. And not only in the country, internationally
The people who are going against this ADC coalition from within the ADC, you trace that to the meddlesomeness of the ruling APC and the presidency?
100 per cent, who sends three policemen and about one or two DSS personnel following each of these individuals, and they are now riding on SUV vehicles, and they’re staying in luxurious hotels? We cannot afford that. Even me, who until yesterday officially was national chairman, I can’t afford that.
There’s money being lavished for nothing. And for now, I don’t think even, I mean, the court are tired of politicians trying to scuttle their own processes, and so on. And they say, go and settle your matter yourself. But at the same time, they continue dragging everybody, and so on and so forth. As I speak to you, three people, there are four, but Dumebi Kachukwu has been expelled from our party.
Kachukwu was your former presidential candidate, have you addressed those grievances he raised?
As a matter of fact, all the other persons that were expelled with him, we have, we had ADR, which INEC recognized, and we recalled those people. And in our neck yesterday, we pardoned them of everything. But Dumebi Kachukwu, who has been the number one agent that is collecting resources from anywhere, and funding the process of, to derail what we are doing, as far as consolidating our coalition is concerned.
We said for him, we don’t want him anymore, and it was moved, and everybody carried it again, despite the fact we did that in the convention before. You see, Nigeria has to move forward. Nigeria has to move forward, and I told everybody, I was with my family recently, when my last son graduated from university, I said, come, what we are doing, we are doing for you.
I will want my grandchildren to go to school in Nigeria, not in America, not in the UK. If God keeps me alive, I see them, I want them to go to school in Nigeria. So, we have to do this hard work. There is no amount of money there is no amount of inducement that will stop us. My National Secretary is also so committed. National Secretary last week was involved in a very serious accident with members of his family, but he managed to be at the NEC of yesterday, and to still make his position known. So leaders of our party are that committed.
Assuming these allegations you’re making are true, how much of a threat does this pose to this new ADC coalition?
None because the Nigerian courts have said, come, politicians, go and sort out your problem. Before long, you want us to decide who will be chairman, who will be a politician, who will be elected, who will be this, and so on.
The same politicians want to make mess of the politics, and if we fought the military to stay away, and one of the number one architect of NADECO and so on, by the grace of God is doing this, and people like us, who suffered in NADECO and so on, we don’t fight back, we are fighting back.
And that is why we have audaciously, and we will continue that process, to audaciously oppose anything that will make Nigeria to become a one-party system under APC. It happened in Lagos, it cannot happen nationally. I’m not the only one that is determined to do that.
Do you think the arrival of this new ADC coalition is now putting the APC on its toes, and is really now playing the role of a proper challenging opposition?
I thought that would happen, but instead of that happening, they still believe there are people in APC who feel that if we offer this, and the appeal is too small, we just up it. We continue to open it until we’re able to dismantle them. But this time they failed. And if I tell you what is happening in the coalition, it’s not just happening in Abuja, it’s happening across the country.
People in the country are vexed. And not only in the country, internationally, as I said again, I was in the UK for my son’s graduation, and a lot of young Nigerians were hosting me, and just within 24 hours that I came into town, I had three hosting’s everywhere. As we speak, despite the fact I’m no longer a chairman, but as I’ve said, I will work more than anybody working from the floor.
