Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his running mate for next year’s presidential election, Rotimi Amaechi, have sworn to oaths not to misuse public funds or abuse public trust.
They also pledged that all elected and appointed officials on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) would be required to take the same oath and submit to the party’s code of ethics.
The undertaking, contained in the party’s ‘Orange Book,’ which was unveiled in Abuja yesterday, requires ADC office holders to accept the supremacy of the party’s ethical rules in the discharge of their public responsibilities, with sanctions prescribed for violations and automatic forfeiture of elected or appointed positions secured on the party’s platform by officials who resign or defect.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said Atiku, Amaechi, and the other presidential aspirants had signed the document and sworn to its provisions, adding that every person elected on the ADC platform would be subjected to the same requirement.
‘All the presidential aspirants, we got them to sign. But you know, the candidates (governorship and legislative) came from the states. They’re not in Abuja, and that’s why we say all of them will sign; all of them. Anybody elected on the platform of the ADC will sign this document. They will not only sign, but will also swear to an affidavit to be held accountable to this document,’ Abdullahi said.
Under the personal oath in the ‘Orange Book,’ ADC officials swear before the party, Nigerian citizens and God that public office is not for ‘power, privilege, wealth, or self-promotion,’ but for service to Nigerians.
They swear to uphold honesty, transparency and justice, demonstrate ethical courage, and commit to the ethical and lawful use of public funds while fighting corruption, waste and abuse at all levels of government.
The oath also requires officeholders to accept full accountability to the party, Nigerian law and the Nigerian people and not obstruct or delay disciplinary or judicial proceedings where credible findings of abuse of office are made against them.
An ADC official who violates any provision of the code or abuses public trust is required to accept sanctions imposed by the party and under Nigerian law.
The oath also provides that an official who resigns from or defects from the party automatically forfeits any elected or appointed position obtained on the ADC platform.
The provisions effectively place the conduct of ADC office holders under an enforceable party framework, rather than leaving adherence to ethical standards to individual discretion.
Abdullahi said the arrangement was developed from the coalition’s conviction that Nigeria’s governance crisis was linked to the way politics was practised and that addressing the problem required a different political culture.
‘When the coalition movement started, there was no fundamental realisation of where we were headed. Where are we in this coalition? Where are we trying to build a new political party? And the answer was very clear. Nigeria is in the mess we are in because of the kind of politics we are playing. And if we must solve the problem that Nigeria is facing, we have to play a different kind of politics,’ he said.
The ‘Orange Book’ also prohibits ADC officials from soliciting or accepting bribes, kickbacks or improper benefits linked to government contracts, approvals or appointments, while requiring them to declare qualifying gifts received in office.
Its governance principles propose the abolition of opaque single-line ‘security votes’ and subjecting all security-related expenditure to legislative approval, oversight and audit.
The party also proposes restricting official domestic and foreign travel to essential, mission-driven engagements, banning bloated delegations and the inclusion of family members or political associates, and limiting per diem and estacode payments to approved rates.
Public assets assigned to elected and appointed officials, including vehicles, residences, aircraft, offices and other government facilities, would be restricted to official purposes.
The ADC further pledged to protect the independence of the judiciary, legislature and other democratic institutions, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while strengthening whistleblower protections through secure reporting channels and safeguards against retaliation.
Abdullahi said the objective was to turn ethical conduct from a matter of personal principle into an organisational obligation binding on everyone elected on the party’s platform.
‘We are saying that you must go beyond personal principle. It’s now become an organisational principle that you will not do it,’ he said.
The party also seeks to curb political godfatherism by prohibiting officials from entering covert arrangements with political financiers in exchange for electoral sponsorship, contracts, influence or protection.
According to Abdullahi, the provisions are reinforced by the ADC constitution, which rejects godfatherism and seeks to prevent wealthy individuals from hijacking the party.
The Orange Book will apply to the president, governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives and other elected or appointed officials who emerge on the ADC platform.