The African Democratic Party (ADC) has reminded Nigerians that President Bola Tinubu requested that he be voted out if he failed to provide stable and affordable power and charged the electorate to keep the president’s wishes.
The President had, during his campaign tour in December 2022, said, “If I don’t give you Constant Electricity for 4 Years, when I come back for 2nd Term, Don’t vote for me.”
The ADC, in a series post by its National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, on his X handle, reminded the president of his covenant with the electorate.
“Today, we just want to take some time to remind President Tinubu that he promised Nigerians uninterrupted electricity within four years. Yes, that’s right, Mr. President promised us 24/7 power. All by himself.
“Yet today, the facts speak louder than Mr. President’s penchant for broken promises. Since Tinubu took office, electricity tariffs have jumped by 240%, but the grid has collapsed 12 times, plunging millions of homes and businesses into repeated darkness.
“Over 90 million Nigerians still lack electricity, while many get just 4 to 6 hours a day under Tinubu’s failed Band A–E system. In rural communities, most of Nigeria’s 50 million families remain completely off the grid, with no access to electricity at all.
“Yet, Mr. President still has not moved the needle. In 26 months, there has been no major power sector reforms, no clear roadmap, and no sense of urgency.
“We are past the halfway mark of this administration, and millions of Nigerians are still charging their phones at mobile charging kiosks, and spending hundreds of thousands to fuel their generators.
“Mr. President, on this fine Sunday morning, we ask:
“Where is the light?
“What happened to your promise?
“And how much longer do Nigerians have to wait in the dark?
“Mr. President, you once said: ‘If I don’t give you electricity, don’t vote for me.
“Well, Nigerians are listening. And come 2027, we intend to grant your wish.” Abdullahi wrote.
Meanwhile, the ADC has reiterated its commitment to conducting free and fair presidential and governorship primaries, adding that it reserved the right to use direct, indirect, or consensus methods, based on the decision of its National Executive Committee.
But some members of the coalition party have said a former Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi, waas not eligible to contest the 2027 presidential election under its platform due to his continued membership in the Labour Party.
Speaking with news men in Abuja, Abdullahi said the party exempted Obi and Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai to complete some election processes in their Legacy Political Parties.
Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar has last week officially disengaged from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), leaving only Peter Obi to do so.
Responding to this question, he said, ”Well I can speak specifically in respect of Peter Obi and Malam Nasiru El-Rufai. Those are the two leaders of our party that we are aware of their situation.
”They were granted leave to complete the process of elections, the by-election and the election of their governorship candidates, like the case of Mr. Obi in their legacy parties. Because they have people who have obtained nomination forms to contest election on the platform of those parties.
”So, it’s only logical and fair that they are allowed to complete that process. But they are solidly in the coalition and as soon as that process is completed, they will move in fully.
”I have not heard Peter Obi or Abubakar Atiku say if it’s not them, then it’s nothing. It’s their supporters or people who purport to speak for them that are saying this.
“Whether it’s Peter Obi or Alhaji Atiku Abubakar or any other aspirants on the platform of African Democratic Congress understand that this is democracy and we are not going to anoint any aspirant or candidate.
”Like our chairman has emphasised, we don’t have a predetermined agenda. We don’t have any favorite candidate. We are going to provide a level playing ground and a transparent process for the emergence of our presidential candidate.
”I’m not aware, therefore, that any of these aspirants have directly said that it’s either them or they are no longer be part of the coalition. It’s okay for supporters to continue to say what they want to say.
“But they don’t necessarily represent the sentiments of people that they claim to support. And that’s why we say that for us in ADC, we are going to maintain strict internal democracy.
”And if anybody has any preferred aspirants or candidates, what I would advise them is to get a membership card of the ADC so that they will be in a position to vote for these aspirants when the time comes to elect a candidate for the party,” he explained.
However, Obi is yet to officially resign from the Labour Party—a move that disqualifies him under the ADC constitutional guidelines.
According to the party’s constitution, only card-carrying members without any ongoing affiliation with other political parties are allowed to seek public office under the ADC.
Specifically, the third schedule of the party’s rulebook, which outlines the conduct of primaries, and Article 8 on membership, both prohibit aspirants from maintaining ties with any other political group.
This clause now presents a clear roadblock for Obi, who is still seen as a key figure in the Labour Party.
Nevertheless, Obi’s media aide, Tanko Yunusa, has confirmed that his principal remained a member of the Labour Party, adding that if there was ever a change in political affiliation, it would be made public.
In another development, the immediate past Director-General of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and two-term member of the House of Representatives, Hon CID Maduabum, has defected from the PDP to the ADC.
Maduabum, in a statement personally issued in Abuja, pointed out that the PDP, which he served with pride, has been hijacked by self-serving, unscrupulous elements, who were more interested in personal power grabs than in party discipline, internal democracy, or national interest.
The PDP, he added, was now a shadow of its former self, stressing that the party has descended into chaos, internal betrayal, and systematic destruction by diverse forces, who have no regard for the principles upon which the party was founded.
According to him, voices of reason were, sadly, no longer welcome, with genuine reformers vilified or silenced.
“I can no longer, in good conscience, remain in a house that has been stripped of its moral compass and overrun by opportunists” he declared.
Chuks Okocha
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