ADC ACCUSES APC OF PARADING ‘IMAGINARY’ DEFECTORS

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By: Fasasi Hammad

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of parading what it described as “imaginary” defectors after the ruling party announced that some House of Assembly candidates from Jigawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara States had defected to its fold.

The opposition party said the individuals presented by the APC were neither its candidates nor leaders, alleging that the ruling party had attached ADC identities to people who had no such standing in the party.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC challenged the APC to provide evidence of the political credentials attributed to the alleged defectors.

“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 chairman was free to receive visitors, such individuals should not be presented to Nigerians as ADC candidates.

“These people are not our candidates,” the party said.

The ADC also rejected the APC’s claim that the alleged defectors were attracted by what the ruling party described as the administration’s “remarkable transformation” of Northern Nigeria.

The opposition party questioned how such claims translated into relief for Nigerians dealing with high food prices, insecurity and rising household expenses.

“Having invented ADC credentials for its guests, the APC has supplied an equally imaginative account of its performance over the past few years,” the ADC said.

The party challenged the APC to identify the offices the alleged defectors held within the ADC, the constituencies they supposedly represented and the periods during which they occupied those positions.

“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 party said.

The ADC said Nigerians were seeking evidence of improved living conditions rather than political photo opportunities.

“Nigerians are asking for evidence of better lives; the APC is manufacturing photographs and congratulating itself,” the party said.