The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected claims by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that some of its candidates from Jigawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara states have defected to the ruling party.
The ADC described the people recently presented by the APC as alleged defectors as individuals who do not hold any recognised position in the opposition party.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the APC had wrongly attached the party’s name and identities to people who were neither its candidates nor leaders.
“These people are not our candidates,” the party said.
“The APC should tell Nigerians which ADC positions these individuals held, the constituencies they represented and when they occupied those positions,” the ADC challenged.
The party also criticised the manner in which the APC announced the alleged defections, saying the ruling party could receive anyone at its secretariat but should not present such individuals to Nigerians as ADC candidates without evidence.
“The APC cannot assemble random individuals at its secretariat, confer imaginary ADC credentials on them and then announce their defection,” Abdullahi said.
The ADC further dismissed the APC’s explanation that the alleged defectors were attracted by what it described as the administration’s transformation of Northern Nigeria.
It questioned the claim against the backdrop of rising food prices, insecurity and increasing pressure on household incomes.
The party said Nigerians were more interested in seeing concrete improvements in their living conditions than political events and photographs of alleged defectors.
“Nigerians are asking for evidence of better lives; the APC is manufacturing photographs and congratulating itself,” the ADC said.
The opposition party maintained that political claims should be supported by verifiable records.
It insisted that the APC should provide evidence to show that the people it presented were actually ADC candidates or officials before claiming they had defected.
‘These people are not our candidates’ – ADC rejects APC defection claim