The African Democratic Congress has declared that it will not be intimidated by what it described as threats, intimidation and political blackmail allegedly emanating from the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, insisting that the Permanent Voter Card remains more powerful than the AK-47.
The opposition party said it was determined to use the ballot to challenge what it described as the maladministration of APC-led governments, maintaining that the electorate would frustrate any attempt to manipulate the outcome of elections.
The party made the declaration on Saturday during an expanded senatorial meeting attended by ward, local government and senatorial leaders in Ewohimi, Esan South-East Local Government Area of Edo State. The gathering also witnessed the formal unveiling of the party’s candidates for the State and National Assembly elections in Edo Central Senatorial District.
The meeting was also used to strengthen the party’s structures ahead of the 2027 general elections and mobilise members to step up grassroots campaigns and voter engagement.
One of the major developments at the event was the defection of members of the APC, New Democratic Congress (NDC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ADC.
Addressing the gathering, former governorship aspirant and party chieftain, Barrister Kenneth Imansuagbon, who represented the party’s National Leader and former Edo State governor, Professor Oserhiemen Osunbor, expressed optimism 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.”
Imansuagbon said the large turnout at the meeting reflected what he described as increasing dissatisfaction with the APC, arguing that no government should subject citizens to prolonged hardship.
Commenting on a viral video in which Edo APC chairman, Jarrett Tenebe, was reportedly heard referring to an AK-47, Imansuagbon said, “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 also described Atiku as the presidential aspirant he considered best prepared for the task of leading the country, saying the former vice president was capable of rescuing Nigeria, restoring hope and bringing the nation back to what he called its lost glory.
Turning to the political contest in Edo Central, Imansuagbon predicted that Governor Monday Okpebholo would lose the district while describing the APC’s reported projection of 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.
The Edo State chairman of the ADC, Tony Alile, also warned that threats would not deter residents from exercising their constitutional rights, stressing that the party remained committed to defending democracy through the electoral process.
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 formally welcomed the defectors into the ADC, urged Edo residents to use their PVCs to register their opposition to the APC administration.
“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 said.
He further charged party leaders at the ward and polling-unit levels to intensify mobilisation efforts, noting that achieving victory in 2027 would depend on the collective efforts and commitment of party members.
Among the prominent ADC figures present at the meeting were Tony Alile, Kenneth Imansuagbon, Hon Sylvester Ewanehi, Hon Braimoh, Chief Emmanuel Ihiahi, Stella Ali, ADC Edo Central Senatorial candidate, Hon Herberta Okonofua, and Engr Barnabas Odion.
The party also urged voters across Edo State to back Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 presidential election, presenting the ADC as the political platform capable of ending what it described as the APC’s failed leadership.
