The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Austin Okai, has questioned why presidential aspirants, Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, have kept silent on the Supreme Court judgement on the party’s leadership crisis.
The duo have not commented on the apex court ruling, reports said.
The ruling which reinstated the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC has elicited reaction from top leaders of the party including former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
Okai wondered in a post on his official Facebook page if Obi and Kwankwaso were not excited about the court ruling, reacting to their silence.
Okai said they staged a protest to show their grievances, but he wondered why they chose silence.
He said, “After all the protests, and 48 hours after David Mark and ADC’s Supreme Court victory, Obi and Kwankwaso still refuse to say a word
Are they not happy that their own party won the same case they protested? At least they could have put on some show. “Hah-ba!”
In the meantime, Kwankwasiyya movement said Kwankwaso will defect from ADC to NDC next week.
The development is a major shake up of the opposition political landscape ahead of the 2027 elections.
The decision was reached after stakeholders unanimously approved the move, spokesman of the movement, Habibu Mohammed, said.
He said representatives of all 44 local government areas in Kano met at Kwankwaso’s residence and agreed on the move.
“The stakeholders have given him the green light to proceed to the NDC.
He said that the former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, is expected to join the NDC with Kwankwaso.
“I think he, Peter Obi and others will be joining the NDC,” he said.
He said discussions with the NDC were about 90 per cent complete with some minor issues to be resolved.
The spokesperson said the decision was greatly influenced by the ongoing leadership crisis in the ADC.
He pointed to the recent Supreme Court judgement that referred the matter back to the Federal High Court as an example of the continuing uncertainty.
He told The Cable that “it doesn’t look feasible to remain there… the whole caucus voted unanimously that a better platform should be used, not one embedded in a leadership tussle.”
Mohammed also cited pending court cases and deadlines for submission of party membership registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as part of the reasons for the decision.
He warned that staying in the ADC could threaten the political plans of the movement.
He said the movement had considered the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and the NDC before settling for the latter.
He said the move was also influenced by internal disagreements within the ADC, including issues around consensus candidacy.
Obi has not attended ADC meetings since the summit in Ibadan, the report said.
He was said to be unhappy with the failure to address zoning of the presidential ticket which he considers key to fairness and unity.
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