The African Democratic Congress has rejected the All Progressives Congress’ claim that some of its House of Assembly candidates from Jigawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara States have defected to the ruling party.
The ADC described the claim as false, alleging that the individuals presented by the APC at its national secretariat in Abuja were neither its candidates nor leaders.
The controversy followed the presentation of a group of politicians to the APC leadership on Monday, with reports stating that representatives from the four states announced their decision to leave the ADC and support President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid.
However, in a statement issued on Monday, September 28, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC challenged the APC to provide evidence of the political positions and candidacies it attributed to the individuals.
Abdullahi accused the ruling party of assigning ADC identities to people who, according to the opposition party, were not recognised members or candidates of the ADC.
“The APC cannot assemble random individuals at its secretariat, confer imaginary ADC credentials on them and then announce their defection,” Abdullahi said.
He added that while the APC leadership was free to receive visitors, it should not present them to the public as ADC candidates or leaders without establishing their identities and previous positions in the party.
“While the APC Chairman is welcome to receive visitors, he should stop introducing them to Nigerians as people they are not. These people are not our candidates,” the ADC spokesman said.
The opposition party also dismissed the reported justification for the alleged defection, particularly the claim that the individuals were attracted to the APC by what the ruling party described as the transformation recorded under the Tinubu administration in Northern Nigeria.
According to Abdullahi, the APC should provide evidence of how its claimed achievements had translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians instead of relying on public appearances and photographs.
“Having invented ADC credentials for its guests, the APC has supplied an equally imaginative account of its performance over the past few years,” he said.
The ADC spokesman further questioned whether the alleged political defections had any connection with improvements in food prices, security or the economic circumstances of families across the country.
“The APC should explain how these fake photo-ops bring down food prices, protect Nigeria’s communities or help struggling families pay their bills. Nigerians are asking for evidence of better lives; the APC is manufacturing photographs and congratulating itself,” Abdullahi said.
The party subsequently challenged the APC to identify the offices allegedly held by the people it presented as former ADC members and provide details of the constituencies in which they purportedly contested elections.
“The APC should state the ADC offices these individuals supposedly held, the constituencies they represented as our candidates and when they held those positions,” the statement said.
The ADC maintained that such information would enable the public to verify the APC’s claim, while accusing the ruling party of creating what it described as an unnecessary political narrative.
“The APC should enjoy its photographs and spare Nigerians this unnecessary fiction,” Abdullahi added.
The statement was signed by Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress.
The APC has separately maintained that representatives of the group from Jigawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara had joined the party and expressed support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
