- Ralph Nwosu said Nigerians requested a minimum of two million ADC membership cards in every state.
- He stressed the need for citizens to enjoy democratic dividends to avoid political criminalisation of leaders.
The African Democratic Congress has revealed that it turned down large financial inducements to abandon its role in Nigeria’s opposition coalition.
Former National Chairman of the party, Chief Ralph Nwosu, disclosed this on Tuesday during the ADC National Executive Committee meeting in Abuja.
He addressed party stakeholders, including members of the National Working Committee, Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee.
“Some politicians believe it’s all about money, and they will tell you, if you can’t get them with this amount of money, what you need is more money.
But we in the ADC, especially the NWC members, said no. We rejected every offer, both in Nigeria and abroad, because we believe in the principles of democracy,” Nwosu said.
He described the party’s participation in the formation of a broad opposition coalition on July 2 as a major step in reviving democratic values.
“What we did on the second of July was one of the toughest processes, but we all did it together.
We resurrected democracy again, and now it’s on the move. Nobody can stop it,” he added.
The party founder also charged the Independent National Electoral Commission, the National Assembly and the judiciary to play their roles in safeguarding democracy.
“Each time democracy suffers, INEC goes down, the National Assembly goes down, and the value of Nigeria diminishes.
Today, I call on the judiciary, INEC, and every institution in this country to stand up and be counted so that the democracy we’ve put back on track can move forward smoothly,” he warned.
Nwosu reflected on the party’s journey, noting that the ADC had grown from a marginal group into a platform with more than 100 elected officials.
“We’ve gone from a party that struggled to win up to five House of Representatives seats to having over 100 elected officials.
This growth is a testament to the clear steps we’ve taken and the competence we represent,” he stated.
He said the level of grassroots support for the ADC was strong across states in the country.
“Nigerians have shown that they love the party we’ve created. Each state has requested a minimum of two million membership cards.
There’s no reward system better than this,” he said.
Nwosu stressed that the benefits of democracy must become visible to the citizens to avoid political disillusionment.
“If our people don’t start to enjoy the great benefits of democracy, almost all of us will be criminalised.
“It will take a little re-engineering of our hearts, minds, and souls to get it going,” he noted.
He said efforts to derail democratic progress through money would ultimately fail.
“No matter the kind of money you spend, you cannot fight all Nigerians.
“We’ve taken the step so that Nigerian democracy will be on the right track again.
“Our children and grandchildren will sleep well knowing we stood for what is right,” Nwosu declared.