Chief Okey Nwosu, the former national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), revealed Wednesday that the party has put in place procedures to expel All Progressives Congress (APC) infiltrators from its ranks.
Additionally, he maintained that the Federal Government had made offers to him in an attempt to dismantle the ADC coalition.
Speaking on Arise television, the founder of the party, who said he is now a floor member in the party, said: “One of the biggest critical calls that the coalition has made is in choosing its leaders, somebody like Senator David Mark; and former governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. One of the steps they have taken is to identify and expose these individuals (infiltrators) and determine what they are trying to sell.
“David Mark is a military tactician who has entered politics. He has used these to deal with the opposition. He told us to do certain things to smoke the infiltrators out and expose them. All of these things we are doing are anticipated. We are just praying that everything will go well so that all the ideas these new leaders have will work out well.”
Speaking on the bribe offers made to him, Nwosu said: “I have heard the government’s refusal and I am not confronting with the government. What we are asking for is for us to go to the ballot box. Why do you (FG) want to stop political parties, not only ADC? You can see what is happening in the PDP.
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I was made offers and I have records and meetings not only here in Nigeria but I will not mention names. The government is using them to scuttle what we are doing in the ADC,” he added.
Asked what the the government had done, Nwosu said: “They have used them (infiltrators) to go to court to say they don’t agree with what we are doing and that it should be stopped. They are being protected, we have pictures and we know where they are. It is laughable because a couple of them have reached out to me. There are five ADC members, two of them have reached out to me, one was able to run away by trying to say he is withdrawing saying he can no longer be coerced.
The Presidency, however, has refuted claims that in an effort to prevent the ADC from joining an opposition alliance, President Bola Tinubu’s administration promised Chief Nwosu ministerial jobs.
In a statement sent on Wednesday on his X account, Daniel Bwala, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, called the claim “false and baseless.”
Nwosu had claimed at the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC), meeting of the ADC on Tuesday that the government had offered him three ministerial positions—two for his nominees and one for himself—in return for abandoning plans to reposition the ADC as a platform for opposition leaders in the run-up to the general election in 2027.
Bwala, however, stressed no government official, no matter the rank, can offer ministerial slots except the President himself.
“From his words as reported, you know that he lied,” Bwala said. “No government official(s) in our administration can promise or grant ministerial slots but Mr. President.”
Bwala further dared Nwosu to publicly name the officials allegedly involved.
“The same courage he mustered in saying he was promised slots should have been used to mention names,” he added.
Bwala went further to describe the current state of the ADC as “an association of jesters or disorganised characters.”
