Umar Ardo, a promoter of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), has described the purported activities of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi in the party’s registration.
Ardo commented on Wednesday while addressing questions on Arise Television’s The Morning Show.
He stated that Amaechi chaired the committee formed to conduct ADA’s registration, while Atiku selected a representative who served on the committee.
The committee was chaired by Amaechi, with Ardo serving as secretary.
According to him, the committee approved the concept and then submitted an application for ADA registration to the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC.
Ardo also claimed that the idea to register ADA came from him and that he actively promoted it inside the opposition alliance.
However, he stated that the situation altered when coalition members apparently lost interest in the new party. Ardo claimed that Amaechi eventually joined the African Democratic Congress, or ADC, after expressing a desire in running for president on its platform.
Despite their departure, Ardo said ADA promoters replaced the impacted committee members and resubmitted the required documentation.
Ardo asked, “Who were the people in it? Rotimi Amaechi, who recommended one of his colleagues as chairman. Then there’s former Vice President Atiku, who nominated one of his individuals to be secretary of our committee. I was the committee’s secretary, and Rotimi Amaechi was its chairman. We agreed, then moved in and submitted the application.
“And I want you to know that the concept of registering the ADA was mine, and I pushed it hard, you know, to the coalition.
“So, when the coalition declared they were no longer interested, Amaechi stepped in. And when I told him he was running for President of the ADC, the chairman proceeded to register in his hometown of Cross River state. The Secretary was then appointed, not only to the ADC, but also to the position of deputy national chairman (North Central-Diaspora).
“So just because these people have moved out, the ADA registration should not be cancelled. We quickly met, made substitutions, and submitted.
“They said they were going, now they came back that they want to join the ADA again in order to forestall, you know, an early judgement by the court.”