A new faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has emerged, further intensifying the ongoing leadership crisis within the opposition party.
A group of 25 state chairmen, rejecting the claims of both the David Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC) and that of Nafiu Bala Gombe, announced the formation of an interim leadership team to stabilise the party and safeguard its future electoral prospects.
The breakaway chairmen said they had constituted themselves into an interim leadership body drawn from the National Executive Committee (NEC), in line with provisions in the party’s constitution.
The committee, comprising 20 members, is headed by the Kogi State Chairman, Kingsley Temitope Ogah, with Edo State Chairman Kennedy Odion, serving as secretary.
The interim team stated that its mandate would last for two to three weeks, pending the national convention scheduled for April 14.
Meanwhile, the David Mark-led NWC has dismissed the chairmen’s claims as an attempt by “fifth columnists” to undermine the party.
Spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi reiterated that the suspended NWC would continue with plans to ensure ADC’s participation in the 2027 elections and challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s delisting of the party’s leaders as overreach.
The ADC crisis has been compounded by conflicting interpretations of the party constitution. Article 12, Section 14 outlines NEC membership, including all state and FCT chairmen, while Article 13 assigns the NEC the responsibility for administering party affairs.
However, the constitution does not explicitly allow state chairmen or NEC members to assume leadership in the event of a vacuum, leading to divergent views on legitimacy.
Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, interim chairman Ogah emphasised that the NEC’s intervention aimed to restore due process and prevent the party from becoming administratively paralysed. He cited procedural lapses by the NWC, including failure to convene statutory meetings, which he said invalidated recent congresses and necessitated the formation of the interim leadership.
Chairman of the Abia State chapter, Don Norman Obinna, clarified that the interim leadership represents elected NEC members, not a faction, and disassociated the party from the actions of David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, Bolaji Abdullahi, and Nafiu Bala Gombe.
He commended INEC for its stance while calling on the commission to recognise the interim arrangement to stabilise party operations.
Abdullahi, speaking on national television, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of exploiting the ADC crisis to weaken opposition participation and insisted that the party would contest the 2027 elections.
“Nigeria will not become a one-party state in our generation. We’ll do everything possible to prevent this,” he said, affirming the ADC’s commitment to its upcoming convention and judicial avenues.
National Chairman of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Yusuf Yabagi Sani, noted that while internal noise dominates the party, it does not translate to electoral success, especially against an incumbent president.
The crisis traces back to the expiration of former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu’s tenure in August 2022, which triggered litigation and multiple leadership claims.
The NEC argued that in the absence of a functioning NWC and an inactive Board of Trustees, elected officials must take immediate action to safeguard the party’s continuity and readiness for future elections.
