African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said that it’s concern is to ensure that voters who were displeased with the outcome of the last general elections are encouraged in future elections.
A former presidential aspirant of the party Dr. Chukwuka Monye, who spoke at a retreat organised for executive committee members in Abuja on Monday, explained that this informed the reason the party decided to assemble panelists from different strata of the society, to discuss the problem.
“We need to know if they would come back and on what basis they would return to vote again.
“ADC will listen and develop game plans based on what the panelists tell us,” he said, adding that the recommendations would form a basis for the party to develop a road plan.
Monye who is also a Board of Trustees (BoT) member of the party said ADC wants to do something different, stating that many Nigerians are not ready to participate in future elections due to the way previous elections turned out.
Among the panelists, according to him, were drivers, market women and artisans, whom he said “are important to us.
“Not many parties out there seek to understand what Nigerians want. ADC is thinking about the operations of the party not waiting till 2027.”
He also called for leadership accountability, which he stated, will help address voter apathy.
ADC National Chairman Dr. Ralphs Okey Nwosu, the retreat would be replicated in other parts of the country.
The party in a communiqué issued at the end of the retreat, promised to intensify its voters education programmes.
“The voters are critical to democracy and nation building. ADC asserted that it’s liaison with the electorate must continue in good spirit,” the party added.
It decried the sorry state of the country, and called political parties to take systematic actions towards transforming the the polity.
“ADC encourages political parties not to wait until election years before planning to run elections. That is why the party is organising leadership retreats to develop the capacities of her party leaders,” the communiqué added.
