Actor and politician, Kenneth Okonkwo, has dismissed claims that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was divided into factions, insisting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) acted lawfully by recognising former Senate President David Mark as the party’s chairman.
Okonkwo, who spoke on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’, on Friday, was reacting to remarks by the ADC’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu.
Kachikwu had on Thursday night described the Mark-led leadership as being “on borrowed time” and accused INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, of acting irresponsibly.
But, Okonkwo said INEC’s decision was grounded in law, stressing that no authority, not even the president, has the power to dictate to the electoral commission.
He said, “INEC is a creature of the law and they ought to be independent in the pursuit of all its functions and the exercise of all its power. Not even the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has any power over INEC.
“So we shouldn’t come to the point in this country where we applaud people for doing what they are paid to do. INEC has simply done its job according to the law. But because we are no longer used to agencies doing their jobs according to the law, we still need to say thank you, because in Nigeria, it is odd when they do their job.”
He added that the electoral body was fair in its recognition of Senator Mark and former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as chairman and secretary of the ADC, respectively.
“INEC was fair in the dealing of David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the chairman and secretary of ADC. Whether it will be fair in election is a hypothetical question, but we pray that there will be no technical glitches.”
He added, “As you know, I’ve searched through the constitution and the Electoral Act and I’ve not found any technical glitch in it. So, they should stop importing extraneous issues into what they are doing. They should stay with the law as they stayed with the law in the recognition of David Mark and Aregbesola as chairman and national secretary.”
Okonkwo also criticised the media for describing the ADC as factionalised, arguing that the party has only one leadership recognised by law.
He said, “Please, may I use this opportunity to plead with the media: there is nothing like the David Mark-led faction of ADC, as if there is any other faction. And ADC is not a new party; ADC is older than APC. It started in 2005. Even people that came yesterday are saying they are dissatisfied—nobody that ought to be satisfied is dissatisfied in ADC.”
