Former national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ralph Nwosu has claimed that he was offered three ministerial appointments in exchange for dropping plans to turn the party into an opposition coalition platform.
Nwosu made the claim on Tuesday at the ADC national executive committee (NEC) meeting, where the party formally handed over leadership to David Mark, the former senate president.
He alleged that the offers were part of a wider attempt to block the emergence of a strong opposition and to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
“Some people tried to discourage us with promises of automatic ministerial appointments,” Nwosu said.
“They wanted to give me three slots so I could take one and share the rest. But I said no. I chose a democratic future for Nigeria.
“Nigeria cannot be a one-party state after all we did to ensure the military exited governance.”
He added that the party’s membership surged to over three million within two weeks of announcing the coalition move.
Nwosu said seven officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were invited to observe the process as regulatory witnesses.
According to him, the party now boasts 28 senators and over 60 members of the house of representatives.
Nwosu added that both the National Working Committee (NWC) and NEC members resigned voluntarily to ensure a smooth handover.
“The ADC is now the party with the largest membership. Nigerians have shown they detest what the ruling party is doing,” he said.
“We were very deliberate about who should lead the party. Our constitution states that all elected members, serving or not, are members of NEC.
“We were worried by the declining fortunes of our democracy. But we insist on this coalition in the best interest of Nigeria.”
On July 2, ADC officially transitioned into the coalition platform, with Mark appointed as interim national chairman.
The party also announced Rauf Aregbesola, former governor of Osun, as its new national secretary.
