LIFU JUDGEMENT: ADC struggle for Nigeria’s soul has only just begun, Ricketts tells Nigerians
Cross River senatorial candidate urges youths, workers, traders and women to rally behind opposition coalition following court judgment
By BASHIR ADEFAKA
“Permit me to say this with every fibre of my being that will never be bought, sold or compromised. We live in the dark hour where our hallowed halls of justice have turned into gas chambers for the suffocation of popular will and democratic pluralism in our dear nation,” Ricketts stated.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) Central Cross River Senatorial Candidate, Chief Akin A. Ricketts, has called on Nigerians and supporters of the opposition party to remain resolute following the controversial Federal High Court judgment affecting the party’s leadership, declaring that the struggle for the soul of Nigeria has only just begun.
Ricketts, in a strongly worded statement titled “Rise, Ye Children of Nigeria and ADC Faithfuls: For the Struggle for the Soul of Nigeria Has Only Just Begun,” described the judgment against the ADC and its leadership under former Senate President David Mark as a politically motivated attempt to weaken the opposition.
He alleged that the ruling reflected growing anxiety within the ruling establishment over the emergence of a formidable opposition coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Permit me to say this with every fibre of my being that will never be bought, sold or compromised. We live in the dark hour where our hallowed halls of justice have turned into gas chambers for the suffocation of popular will and democratic pluralism in our dear nation,” he stated.
Reacting to what he described as a dubious judicial pronouncement against the ADC, Ricketts alleged that those behind the development were attempting to use the judiciary to frustrate the opposition party’s political movement and prevent a possible electoral defeat.
“Yesterday’s dubious pronouncement delivered from on high against the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its formidable leadership under David Mark is nothing short of a desperate political panic-fire lit by a terrified, failing hegemony in Aso Rock,” he alleged.
He argued that no judicial decision could erase the economic hardship, unemployment and widespread dissatisfaction confronting Nigerians.
According to him, attempts to weaken the ADC through legal and political manoeuvres would not diminish the determination of citizens seeking a change in the country’s leadership.
“Let the architects of this judicial misgiving know today that you can shackle a piece of paper, but you can never chain the collective fury of two hundred million suffering Nigerians.
“You can invalidate a structure on parchment, but you can never nullify the hunger in the belly of the common man, the tears of the unemployed graduate, or the collective cry of a people yearning to breathe free,” he declared.
Ricketts further expressed confidence in the political prospects of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the broader coalition of opposition figures rallying under the ADC, insisting that their emergence had unsettled the ruling establishment.
He maintained that the opposition movement represented an opportunity for Nigerians to demand accountability and an end to what he described as poor governance and failed economic experimentation.
Calling on Nigerians across different social and economic backgrounds to join the struggle, the ADC senatorial candidate specifically appealed to traders, workers, youths and women to rise against the prevailing economic difficulties.
“So rise, ye faithful of the ADC. Rise, ye children of Nigeria. Rise, ye traders whose shops have been crushed by taxation and inflation. Rise, ye workers whose salaries can no longer buy a bag of rice. Rise, ye youths whose future has been mortgaged by a government of recycled failures. Rise, ye women who queue from dawn till dusk for fuel and food,” he urged.
He stressed that the struggle should not be regarded as the personal ambition of Atiku Abubakar or the political interest of the ADC alone, but as a broader demand for a better Nigeria.
“This is not Atiku’s fight. It is not the ADC’s fight alone either; rather, it is the fight of every Nigerian who refuses to accept that suffering is our national identity,” Ricketts said.
The ADC chieftain also argued that although the ruling party controlled government institutions and possessed considerable financial and political resources, the opposition had the support of Nigerians yearning for change.
“They may have the state apparatus. They may have the dollars, the thugs and the propaganda machine. But we have the people. We have history. We have justice. And above all, we have the unquenchable spirit of a nation that has survived civil war, military tyranny, economic ruin and political treachery, yet still refuses to die,” he stated.
He described the ADC as a political platform capable of giving expression to the aspirations of Nigerians seeking a different direction for the country, urging party faithful to remain vigilant, united and committed to the democratic struggle.
Ricketts further warned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its alleged collaborators against underestimating the determination of Nigerians to exercise their democratic rights.
“The APC and its collaborators must understand that you cannot defeat a people who have decided to be free,” he declared.
He concluded by expressing confidence that the ADC would overcome its current challenges and achieve its political objectives through the determination of Nigerians and the grace of Almighty God.
“The struggle for the soul of Nigeria has only just begun, and by the grace of the Almighty and the courage of the Nigerian people, the ADC shall prevail,” Ricketts said.
