African Democratic Congress, ADC, has said that the party is in support of the clamour for the next president of Nigeria to come from southern part of the country in 2023 general elections.
The party stated this over the weekend during the meeting of their forum of Chairmen held in Enugu.
In the communique released by the forum after their meeting, the party chairmen maintained that Southern Nigeria deserve the Presidency for the sake of justice and equity.
“Over the time, we have aligned ourselves as a Political Party to support the patriotic call for Political Parties in Nigeria to have their Presidential ticket zoned to the Southerner part of the Country.
“We are also of the strong opinion and conviction that Southern Nigeria deserve the Presidency for the sake of equity and justice in our Nation’s Political system.”
The communique which was signed by the Chairman of all Chairmen, Prince Joe Chukwu, the ADC also condemned the the spate of insecurity in the country and called on the government to arrest the situation before it deteriorates.
Chukwu, who’s also the chairman of Delta state chapter of the party also hailed the National Assembly for passing the amended Electoral Bill and thanked the president, Muhammadu Buhari for signing same into law.
“We decry in a strong terms, the spate of insecurity in our Nation. It is not gainsaying to say that the song on the lips of everyone in Nigeria is “insecurity of live and properties, terrorism, kidnapping, banditry and activities of unknown gunmen. The insecurity in the Nation is growing exponentially as each day passes by. The Nation’s state of unrest will completely turn everywhere to miasma of bloodletting, if vital steps are not taken.
“The havoc being wrecked by rebellious individuals is deadly and there is need for new security tactics to arrest this ugly trend. We call on our Government at all level to arise to this occasion and fulfill their primary duty of safeguarding lives and properties. .
“We applaud the National Assembly for passing the electoral amendment bill and President Mohammed Buhari for signing it into law. This landmark legislative amendment by National Assembly in our electoral process is a pragmatic response to the realities of the Nigeria electoral experience. This Amended Act will help to raise the quality of Nigeria’s Democracy by ensuring that our Leadership recruitment process is rested on a credible and transparent electoral framework.
“The early release of electoral funds will strengthen INEC financial independence. Also, the inclusion of electronic transmission of result, power to review Election results declared under duress, political neutrality of INEC Personnel, legalization of electronic accreditation of voters, inclusion of persons with Disability, using accredited votes to determine total votes, early conduct of Party primaries, elongation of campaign period before election and substitution of candidate in the event of death in an election will help to inject sanity and credibility in our electoral process. We call on all stakeholders to vigorously and honestly work for the full implementation of this act in our forthcoming General election in 2023.”
Speaking on women inclusiveness in politics, the host Chairman, and Enugu State Chairperson, Comrade Stella Chukwuma, said the party is highly disposed to equal rights and gender sensitive, stressing that the ADC has demonstrated this.
According to Comr. Chukwuma, “ADC is the only party that made it mandatory that one woman must be a state chairman in at least, one state in all the six geopolitical zones. Women are holding other sensitive positions at the national level of the party. These are practical things and not just theory.”
