The attention of he National Democratic Coalition, NADECO has again been drawn to a purported statement issued on February 28 instant and carried by the social media credited to a so called NADECO USA authored by an impostor, a revisionist, named Lyoyd U. Ukuwu, exploiting NADECO’s hard earned name for a pernicious, narrow ethnic supremacist agenda.
When this ethnic champion first perjured NADECO last year, we reacted in a statement issued on August 9, 2022 and our reaction which was well used by the media is hereby reproduced.
NADECO, USA: DISCLAIMER
The attention of the National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, has been drawn to a Press Release issued by a so called NADECO, USA, with no attribution or known address on August 1, 2022. We like to state without any equivocation that:
i. “NADECO has no existing branch in the USA having regard to the fact that a
Global Conference of the organization presided over by its then Leader, Chief Anthony Enahoro at Virginia, USA in October/November, 1999 decided to wind down its international operations and activities henceforth. And there has been no discussion and or decision to reopen any office outside Nigerian shore till date.
ii. NADECO believes that Nigerians either as individuals or groups have their constitutional rights to freedom of expression and the press as provided for in Section 39 of Chapter IV dealing with Fundamental Human Rights and Directive Principle of State Policy of the DISPUTED 1999 Constitution. However, such a right does not permit anyone to commit perjury by using other people’s name or platform. If anyone is sure of the conviction of his heart, the person should be bold enough to create personal or group platform to canvass chosen views and opinions.
iii. NADECO is ever sensitive to its image and reputation so much that it has always maintained dignified silence whenever it was in the national interest to do so and to be bold and courageous to speak truth to power whenever there was a necessity for national intervention. And we are not about to change course by using expletives on any public officer rather than criticizing the wrongly headed issues being pursued by the Nigerian State.
iv. NADECO believes truly that the Nigerian State is on the wrong course and the wasteful energy being invested over 2023 general elections amount to misdirected pursuit of a sectional rather than national agenda. What has been the benefits of all the elections already held since 1998/1999 except that they have produced misguided, perverted and ethically unfit for public office fellows sponsored to important political offices by retired military strongmen and their civilian collaborators who have captured Nigeria by the Gulak since January 15, 1966.
v. NADECO wishes to state without any reservation that election is not the National priority but Diligent Pursuit of Agenda to RETURN NIGERIA TO FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE upon which it secured her independence.
vi. NADECO therefore hereby informs the general public, both local and general that NADECO as a body of respected statesmen, civil and military, ethnic nationality leaders, civil society organizations, religious and traditional rulers, women, youth, academia, professional groups e.t.c which presented itself to the public in May 1994 has no connection whatsoever with the so called NADECO, USA, which bore no address or attribution”.
1. It was a fact that in 1998, most NADECO members abroad and at home insisted on having a National Conference to discuss and resolve the NATIONAL QUESTION particularly as it related to a return to FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE upon which Nigeria secured its independence on October 1960, before any election, but we eventually participated in order to have a political base to creditably further our noble campaign.
2. As God would have it, one of our most distinguished leaders who ran a purposeful and productive two term governance of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has just emerged victorious as the newly democratically elected President-Elect of Nigeria in the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
3. NADECO is conversant with the fact that after elections in our clime, there are always the democratically availed avenues to seek redress for those who are not satisfied with whatever declaration was made. And so those opposed to the recent declaration are already approaching the judiciary as of right.
4. It’s therefore reprehensible for an impostor who was never part of NADECO when it operated internationally to be perjuring our hard earned name for clannish, ethnic agenda and revisionism.
5. As was stated in the last year statement, NADECO since 1999 has closed its international operations. Therefore, any purported statement issued by this impostor running a rogue organization and perjuring NADECO should be ignored and treated with contempt as it deserves henceforth.
6. NADECO therefore congratulates Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his well-deserved victory at the February 25, 2023 presidential election. And we strongly believe that he would diligently utilize his good offices to rights the many wrongs in Nigeria particularly the urgently demand for speedy return to Federal Constitutional Governance which he had fought for both as part of us in the trenches and as a two term Governor of Lagos State, the Centre of Excellence.
7. Nigeria has till date been a significantly failed experiment. This is the time to prove that an activist has come to unleash the full potentials of human and natural endowments of Nigeria for the full advantage and progress of Nigerians and for Nigeria to respond appropriately to its manifest destiny of providing qualitative leadership to the black race of technologically driven, open and transparent governance that will be a show piece to the global community.
AYO OPADOKUN
SECRETARY
9/3/2023
