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By Myke Agunwa
The steam at which the African Democratic Congress (ADC) took off seems to be waning as major stakeholders have started to foot-drag on obtaining the party’s membership card over concerns on the zoning of the party’s Presidential ticket.
Recall that Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff and the All Progressives Congress (APC) had predicted that ADC will collapse within three months. They held that most of the political heavyweights, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former governors of Anambra, Rivers, Kaduna namely: Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who are interested in the coalition are nursing presidential ambition and unwilling to step down for one another.
The coalition had banked on the large followership enjoyed by Peter Obi and his Obident Movement which they planned to harvest to strengthen its youth base and enlarge its membership.
However, the coalition is not reaping the expected result as Obi has been on the side line, and yet to obtain a membership card of the party.
A source who is very close to the political intrigues in the coalition family disclosed to pointblanknews.com that Obi’s team is not comfortable with the strategic positions hijacked by the foot soldiers and politicians loyal to Atiku, which gives him an early lead to clinch the party’s presidential ticket unless it is zoned ahead of time.
Disclosing the reason Obi is yet to formally register with the party, he said, “The problem Obi has with the ADC is this issue of zoning. He wants them to be very clear on where the Presidential candidate of the party is going to come from before he formally joins the party. If they don’t zone, then we won’t join. So the main question is zoning.”
He went further to state that Atiku’s foot soldiers have hijacked the structures of the party making it literally impossible for any other candidate but the former vice President to emerge as flag bearer.
According to him, “Atiku’s imprimatur is all over the ADC. His foot soldiers are everywhere. As we speak, there is a meeting going on at the residence of Emeka Ihedioha where some associates of Atiku have been charged with the responsibility of convincing Obi to register with the party. But Obi is wiser now and will not allow what happened to him in PDP in 2023 to repeat itself.”
The national coordinator, Obident Movement Worldwide, Dr. Yunusa Tanko while highlighting why Obi is yet to get the membership card of the ADC, said that Obi is more interested in joining forces with a coalition of politicians determined to remove the clueless administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and not necessarily to join a new political party. He said that Obi was given till November to register with the ADC.
In an exclusive chat with Pointblanknews.com, Tanko said, “He has made it very clear from the beginning that the coalition he joined was on an individual basis and has nothing to do with any political party. You know that the coalition was not a coalition of political parties but individuals.
“They have given themselves a time frame until November, when anybody who has any campaign to make for each of their candidates would have finished doing so.
“But he is not the only one. Atiku Abubakar has not joined the ADC. Nasir El-Rufai has not joined the ADC” he said.
When contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said that Obi and other party leaders were given some time before they will register with the party.
When asked when the party will start its congresses to elect new leadership for the party he responded, “The party has a process and will take the right decisions at the appropriate time.”