ADC not abandoning coalition, group intact, says Abdullahi

The African Democratic Congress has dismissed speculation that it is considering abandoning the coalition for the Peoples Redemption Party, insisting that its coalition remains intact and fully committed to its ongoing political and legal engagements.

Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, said in a statement released on Monday that the party was fully committed to ensuring that the action taken against its leadership by the Independent National Electoral Commission be reversed.

On April 1, INEC announced the removal of key figures of the ADC, including National Chairman David Mark and National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, from its official register, explaining that the move was in line with a court order directing it to maintain the status quo pending the trial court’s final ruling.

The party has remained entangled in a protracted leadership crisis, following the inauguration of a new National Working Committee under Mark’s leadership in July. The dispute stemmed from disagreements over the tenure of former chairman Ralph Nwosu, which ended in August 2022. While Nwosu was said to support a 2025 transition plan, his deputy, Nafiu Gombe, insisted on stepping in as acting chairman after Nwosu’s exit.

The rift later deepened into factional battles for control of the party, triggering multiple legal confrontations at both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, and raising concerns about the party’s preparedness for the 2027 elections. In response, Mark, on April 2, called for resignation and maintained that the party would proceed with its scheduled activities.

In a related development, a faction backed by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, announced a caretaker committee on April 7 in Abuja during a National Executive Committee meeting convened by some state chairmen.

The situation has since split the party into three factions: one led by Mark representing the coalition bloc, another led by Gombe, and a NEC-backed group aligned with Kachikwu and headed by Kingsley Ogga, the Kogi State ADC chairman.

Meanwhile, some media outlets reported that the Mark-led ADC was considering defecting to the PRP.

Reacting, Abdullahi described the report as speculative and premature, urging the public to disregard it.

He said, “Our attention has been drawn to a story in circulation that the African Democratic Congress is in talks with another political party, specifically the Peoples Redemption Party, in anticipation of its court judgment.

“We would like to state categorically that this is not true.

“The coalition leadership is not having any such conversation with any political party at the moment.

“We are fully committed to ensuring that the illegal action taken against our leadership by INEC and other agents of the ruling party is overturned.

“We believe that this is the only path to safeguarding the rule of law and ensuring that multiparty democracy survives in Nigeria.

“While we are open to expanding the coalition to bring all opposition elements in the country together to rescue our country, we remain clear about the responsibility that this moment has imposed on us. We will not abdicate that responsibility.

“Therefore, any suggestion that we are considering abandoning the ADC is premature and speculative and should be ignored.

“Notwithstanding the flagrant bastardisation of democratic institutions, the ADC leadership remains confident that the judicial institutions will, at this defining moment, resist the pressure to be complicit in undermining Nigeria’s democracy.”