Dumebi Kachikwu, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has accused Kingsley Moghalu, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), of “financial inducement” during the party’s presidential primary.
Kachikwu spoke on Tuesday during an interview with Channels Television.
Last Tuesday, he floored Moghalu and Chukwuka Monye to win the ADC presidential ticket.
Recall that on Monday, Moghalu resigned his membership of the ADC, saying his decision was as a result of the poor conduct of the presidential primary.
Also Read: Moghalu Dumps ADC After Losing Presidential Ticket
“As you are well aware, I have consistently resisted pressures to join the APC or the PDP precisely to avoid “cash-and-carry” politics. For me to remain a member of the ADC therefore, after what thousands of party members participated in at Abeokuta, would be to endorse political corruption of a most obscene order,” Moghalu had said.
Reacting to the claim of financial inducement made by Moghalu, the presidential candidate denied paying delegates, and alleged that it was the former CBN deputy governor who induced some party chairmen.
The presidential candidate also stated that the party will forward a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the alleged financial inducement.
He further explained that while he was meeting in delegates in large number across zones, Moghalu cherry-picked delegates he met.
“I’m extremely dismayed that Kingsley, someone who I believe is honourable, will defame not only myself but by inference, he defamed my party,” he said.
“He defamed the delegates and desecrated the process that brought me as a candidate. We worked very hard. As a politician, I understood that this was a delegate election.
“In a delegate election, you bring yourself before the delegates. I was meeting the delegates on a zonal basis. Kingsley was not meeting the delegates. Kingsley was having meetings with three people per state. I was meeting an average of 30 to 40 people per state. The delegates knew me, so they came there knowing who I was.”
