The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared that it will not succumb to what it described as threats, intimidation and political blackmail by the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that it is mobilising Nigerians to vote out the ruling party in the 2027 general election.

The opposition party said it was prepared to challenge what it called the maladministration of the APC-led governments through the ballot, declaring that the people’s votes would defeat any attempt at electoral manipulation.

The party made the declaration at an enlarged senatorial meeting involving ward, local government and senatorial leaders in Ewohimi, Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State, where candidates for the state and National Assembly elections in Edo Central Senatorial District were formally unveiled.

The meeting also provided a platform for the party to mobilise its structures ahead of the 2027 elections and urged members to intensify grassroots campaigns to ensure the defeat of the APC.

A major highlight was the defection of members of the APC, New Democratic Congress (NDC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) into the ADC.

Speaking at the gathering, former governorship aspirant and party stalwart, Mr Kenneth Imansuaghon, who represented the party’s National Leader and former Edo State Governor, Prof. Oserhiemen Osunbor, expressed confidence that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar would emerge as Nigeria’s next president.

He said: “ADC will win the 2027 election and Atiku Abubakar will be the next president because the APC has failed Nigerians. Nigerians are tired of the suffering in the land, tired of poor road infrastructure and tired of insecurity. It took me over five hours to travel from Benin to my Ewohimi village, a journey that took 45 minutes under the PDP administration.”

Imansuaghon, who described the turnout at the meeting as evidence of growing public dissatisfaction with the APC, said it was unacceptable for any government to inflict hardship on the people.

Taking a swipe at the reported AK-47 threat attributed to Edo APC Chairman, Jarrett Tenebe, in a viral video, he declared: “What we have is not the guns. They have said they have the AK-47, but we have the people. With our PVC, APC will be sent packing.

“If they think they can rig the election, they are living in a fool’s paradise. Nigerians will be ready to defend democracy and the votes of the Nigerian people.”

He further described Atiku as the most prepared presidential candidate, adding that he was ready to rescue the country, restore hope and return Nigeria to its lost glory.

On the political battle in Edo Central, Imansuaghon predicted defeat for Governor Monday Okpebholo and dismissed the APC’s projected 2.5 million votes for President Bola Tinubu as a political smokescreen.

“In Edo Central, I can tell you that Okpebholo will be defeated because the people are with us. The 2.5 million votes promised Tinubu is a smokescreen. We want Tinubu to know that Okpebholo is deceiving the president. Nobody can rig our election,” he said.

Also speaking, Edo ADC Chairman, Tony Alile, declared that no amount of threats would discourage voters from exercising their constitutional rights, insisting that the party would defend democracy through the ballot.

Also reacting to the viral video allegedly showing Tenebe making references to an AK-47, Alile said: “Nobody can discourage or stop voters from coming out to exercise their franchise. It is their civic responsibility, and it is not in our constitution that a private citizen can brandish a machine gun, which he mentioned as AK-47. I believe the law enforcement agencies have also seen the video and, at the appropriate time, they will invite him for questioning.”

Alile, who received the defectors into the ADC, urged residents of Edo State to use their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to express their dissatisfaction with the APC administration, declaring: “The weapon ADC has is 200 times bigger and smarter than the AK-47 the other man mentioned, and that weapon is called the PVC. If you are tired of the hunger and suffering in the land, I don’t need to tell you to use your PVC as your weapon against this government that has no heart.”

He urged party leaders at the ward and unit levels to intensify mobilisation, stressing that victory in 2027 would require collective commitment and an all-hands-on-deck approach.

Prominent party leaders at the meeting included Tony Alile, Imansuaghon, Hon. Sylvester Ewanehi, Hon. Braimoh, Chief Emmanuel Ihiahi, Stella Ali, ADC Edo Central Senatorial candidate, Hon. Herberta Okonofua, and Mr. Barnabas Odion.

The party also called on Edo voters to support Atiku Abubakar in the January 2027 presidential election, describing the ADC as the platform to end what it characterised as the APC’s failed leadership. (THISDAY)

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