Stop misleading Nigerians on your crisis, APC tells ADC

The All Progressives Congress has urged the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress to follow due process and desist from misleading Nigerians over the ongoing leadership dispute within the party.

APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, stated this while addressing newsmen on Friday in Abuja, also dismissed calls for the removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Joash Amupitan, and the INEC commissioners.

Ajibola described the calls for Amupitan’s removal as undemocratic and a clear display of disregard for established constitutional procedures governing the electoral body.

INEC had on Wednesday announced the removal of prominent ADC figures, including Mark as the National Chairman and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the National Secretary of the party.

The commission, through its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, stated that the action was taken in line with a court directive mandating it to maintain the status quo pending the trial court’s final decision.

ADC has been facing a lingering leadership crisis since 2025, following the emergence of a new National Working Committee led by Mark in July of that year.

The dispute originated from disagreements over the tenure of former National Chairman of the party, Ralph Nwosu, which officially ended in August 2022.

Despite this, Nwosu was said to have played a role in the 2025 leadership transition, a development that triggered opposition from some factions within the party.

The rift later deepened as rival groups laid claim to the party’s leadership, leading to multiple legal battles and growing uncertainty within the ADC, amid fears that the crisis could affect its preparedness for the 2027 general elections.

Mark and the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, had alleged that the APC and President Bola Tinubu were responsible for their predicament.

Speaking on Friday, Basiru absolved Tinubu and the APC from the ADC crisis, saying it is self-inflicted.

He stated, “Nigerians must know that the present predicament of David Mark and his ilk has to do with the untidy way they hijacked the leadership of an existing political party without carrying along all stakeholders, resulting in court litigation before the Federal High Court and the adverse judgment of the Court of Appeal, upon which INEC predicated its decision not to recognise any of the two contending parties for the leadership of the African Democratic Congress, pending the determination of the suit by the court.”

Basiru added that the Mark-led ADC leadership seemed to be deceiving itself as the leading opposition, despite recent election results indicating otherwise.

He said, “It is the above orders of the court that are being put into effect by INEC, and we are at a loss as to the basis for the allegation that President Bola Tinubu is weakening the opposition in the circumstances. David Mark approached the Court of Appeal, and his appeal was dismissed as unmeritorious; status quo was ordered to be maintained and costs awarded against him. In the circumstances, where does President Bola Tinubu feature in their predicament, if not outright fallacious and malicious propaganda?”

Basiru further stated that if the Mark-led ADC disagrees with INEC’s interpretation, it should pursue redress through the courts, noting that INEC has maintained it is acting in compliance with the Court of Appeal’s directive to preserve the status quo ante bellum.

“The public defiant posture of Senator Mark and his factional ADC leadership against the orders of the Court of Appeal and its implementation by INEC not only amounts to self-help but recklessness and a clear display of irresponsibility. Their call for the sack of the INEC Chairman and other INEC commissioners further exposes a lack of seriousness and understanding of the leadership processes of established institutions,” he added.

Basiru said the ADC’s plan to proceed with its congresses despite court orders raises concerns about its respect for due process and the rule of law.

The APC national secretary added, “It is settled law that court decisions are binding on all parties until set aside by a competent court. The avowed refusal by Senator Mark and his co-travellers to comply with court decisions demonstrates a troubling disregard for the rule of law and democratic responsibility.

“Indeed, their initial resort to interlocutory appeal appears to have been a clumsy, hasty, and flawed procedural attempt to stall proceedings at the trial court, undertaken in disregard of due legal process.

“The ADC must also come to terms with a hard truth: blaming other parties will not fix their internal crises. No amount of external finger-pointing can erase their consistent failures or resolve their lingering leadership issues. It is wishful thinking to assume that other political parties will step in to rescue them from problems they have repeatedly failed to manage.”

Meanwhile, the ADC faction led by Nafiu Bala dismissed allegations that it is being funded by Tinubu or the APC.

The camp, which has been locked in a protracted tussle with the Mark-led NWC, said claims of external backing were baseless and aimed at discrediting its struggle for control of the party’s structure.