Alile Emerges Edo ADC Chairman, As Oyegun Urges Tinubu’s Removal

The National Leader of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former governor of Edo State, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on Saturday declared that the party’s mission is to unseat the administration of President Bola Tinubu, stating that Nigerians have had enough of what he described as bad governance.

Odigie-Oyegun, who served as the founding national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during its 2015 victory over former President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the remarks while receiving the newly- elected Edo State executive of the ADC, led by its chairman, Hon. Tony Alile, at his residence in the Government Reservation Area (GRA), Benin City.

He emphasized the growing dissatisfaction among Nigerians, particularly the youth, and the urgent need for political change.

“I consider that my job is done. At my age, what I have is to pass the ball over to you. I am the happiest person. I cannot at my age install another person as old as myself, while the younger ones are there.

“When the youths came out in 2023, they made a statement that enough is enough and that statement is reverberating till today. For me, it is a mission accomplished, it is not going to be a bed of roses. For the second time, we are about to remove a government again,” he said.

Reflecting on the 2015 political transition, Odigie-Oyegun noted that the process began with discreet meetings before evolving into a formal coalition. He urged the new leadership of the party to remain focused and avoid internal distractions.

“Today, the main opposition party is ADC. Don’t allow cockroaches and ants sap the strength of this party. Don’t show slavish loyalty to any individual. We have a nation to salvage, sacrifices to make,” he added.

Earlier, the chairman of the Edo State ADC Congress Committee, Senator Andrew Uchendu, formally declared Hon. Tony Alile as the duly elected chairman of the party in the state. He called on the new leadership to be inclusive and adhere strictly to the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.

“On our arrival, we met a structured team. For the past three days, my committee members and I have been in Edo State to supervise the conduct of the ADC congresses—the ward, LGA, and state congresses. On our arrival, we had the opportunity to meet with a structured team led by the party chairman in Edo State.

“There are only two ways allowed by the Electoral Act and the ADC constitution, and those two are consensus or election. We are informed that Edo State has adopted consensus from unit to state; the advantage of this is to ensure that there is no rancour.

“The consensus does not mean that there are no conflicts, but the good thing is that when they happen, compromises are made. To the glory of God, we have a list of state executives. The comprehensive list and video clips are available at the state secretariat.

“This result came out as a result of minimal interference. This is politics; I cannot go into deep explanation. We have Hon. Tony Alile, Chairman; Hon. Sylvester Ewanehi, Deputy Chairman; Hon. Jafaru Sumaina, Secretary; Comrade Chris Ojeikere, State Publicity Secretary,” he said.

In his acceptance remarks, Alile expressed appreciation to party members and pledged immediate action to reposition the party in Edo State and beyond.

“It has been a long journey. What is expected of us is to hit the ground running. This is the first assignment for us after the declaration of the results. We have decided to visit our national leader, Odigie-Oyegun. You can see that I am here with members of the executive. From here, we are going into private meetings to make policy statements. But one thing is sure are we happy with the way we are in Nigeria today? The answer is no, and that is where we are coming with answers.

“We are going to mobilize Nigerians to say that this country belongs to all of us, not the private property of an individual. When a nation senses that they are tired of a government, the next thing is the opposition. Very soon, we will be unveiling our 30 days, 60 days and 6 months plans,” he said.