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  • ADC Defies INEC, Vows to Hold Congresses as David Mark Demands Chairman’s Sack

    A high-stakes confrontation between Nigeria’s most prominent opposition coalition and the country’s electoral commission intensified on Friday, as the African Democratic Congress declared it would proceed with its planned party congresses and national convention regardless of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to de-recognise its leadership, a move the party described as a politically motivated attack on democracy ahead of the 2027 elections.

    What triggered the crisis

    The crisis reached a boiling point on Wednesday, April 1, when INEC announced it was removing Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from its portal as ADC National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, and would not monitor any congress or convention convened by their faction. INEC cited a Court of Appeal ruling in Suit No. CA/ABJ/145/2026, which directed all parties to maintain the “status quo ante bellum”, that is, the state of affairs before hostilities began, pending the resolution of an ongoing leadership dispute before the Federal High Court.

    The dispute involves a former ADC official, Nafiu Bala Gombe, who claims he never resigned as national chairman and that his signature on a resignation letter was forged. INEC said it received legal letters from Nafiu Bala’s lawyers demanding that Mark and Aregbesola be de-recognised, and determined that since Mark’s leadership was uploaded to the INEC portal seven days after the lawsuit was filed, removing the names was consistent with restoring the status quo.

    ADC: “We are proceeding regardless”

    Addressing a press conference at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on Thursday, ADC National Chairman David Mark described INEC’s action as a direct attack on democracy and accused the commission of taking sides in an internal party dispute. “The only conclusion Nigerians can draw is that the electoral umpire has taken sides and can no longer be trusted,” he said.

    Mark announced that the ADC would proceed with its congresses beginning April 9 and its national convention on April 14, arguing that the law does not make INEC’s attendance a mandatory requirement for internal party processes. “We have duly served INEC notice, and we will proceed accordingly,” he said.

    He called on the ADC’s allies in the international community to take note of what he described as a convergence of legal pressure and political intent by the ruling party. “If you are convinced you have done well, why are you afraid of credible elections?” he asked, directing the question at President Tinubu.

    David Mark demands INEC chairman’s resignation

    Mark went further, calling for the immediate resignation or removal of INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan and other national commissioners, saying the ADC had lost all confidence in their ability to conduct credible elections. “We are convinced they are incapable of conducting any credible election,” he said. He also warned that INEC’s actions could affect the ADC’s participation in the upcoming Osun and Ekiti governorship elections.

    INEC chairman fires back

    Speaking on Arise Television on Friday, INEC Chairman Amupitan defended the commission’s decision, saying the matter was already before a Federal High Court in Abuja and that INEC could not take any step that would prejudice proceedings still before the court. “We have a record of a letter written by ADC sometime ago informing the commission that Nafiu Bala had resigned. Then Nafiu also wrote and contended before the court that he did not resign, and as a matter of fact, that his signature was forged,” he said.

    Amupitan warned the ADC about the potential consequences of proceeding with unsupervised congresses and conventions, citing the Zamfara State precedent. “If they decide to go ahead, let me tell you what happened in Zamfara. At the end of the day, after you have won, the court will declare the election invalid, and the implication is that the person with the second-highest number of votes will be declared the winner,” he said.

    APC denies involvement

    The ruling APC rejected the ADC’s claim that President Tinubu was behind INEC’s action. APC National Secretary Senator Ajibola Basiru said at a separate press conference on Friday that the decision implemented by INEC was a consequence of the dismissal of an appeal filed by Mark’s own faction. “Where does President Bola Tinubu feature in their claims, if not in fallacious and malicious propaganda?” he asked. The APC also described the ADC’s call for Amupitan’s sack as reckless.

    INEC brushes off removal call

    In a statement on Thursday night, INEC also firmly dismissed the calls for its chairman’s removal. The commission said its decision was anchored strictly on compliance with the Court of Appeal order, and not on political considerations. It noted that it had recently registered three new political parties, the Democratic Leadership Alliance, the Nigeria Democratic Congress, and the National Democratic Party, bringing the total number of active parties to 22, which it said was an empirical rebuttal of claims that it supported a one-party agenda.

    What it means for 2027

    The dispute strikes at the heart of Nigeria’s 2027 opposition strategy. The ADC has spent the past three months assembling the most formidable opposition coalition in recent Nigerian history, with Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Kwankwaso, El-Rufai, Amaechi, Tambuwal, and Mark himself all under the same roof. An INEC-enforced leadership freeze — or a court ruling that invalidates the Mark-Aregbesola leadership, could significantly disrupt those plans.

    The Federal High Court is yet to set a hearing date for the substantive case. The Court of Appeal has separately ordered that the matter be granted an accelerated hearing. RNN.NG will continue to follow all developments in this critical dispute.

  • Kwankwaso Receives ADC Membership Card in Kano as Obi, Amaechi, Tambuwal Attend

    Former Kano State Governor and 2023 presidential candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has formally joined the African Democratic Congress, receiving his membership card on Monday afternoon at Gidan Kwankwasiyya on Miller Road, Kano, completing a political journey that began with his resignation from the New Nigeria Peoples Party just 24 hours earlier.

    Confirming the move on his X handle moments after receiving the card, Kwankwaso wrote simply: “New Dawn. We are ADC.”

    Who came to Kano

    The event carried unmistakable weight, drawing a roll call of Nigeria’s most prominent opposition figures to Kano to witness the formal registration.

    In attendance were ADC National Chairman and former Senate President David Mark; ADC National Secretary and former Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola; former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi; former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal; former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi; Senator Dino Melaye; former APC National Chairman John Odigie-Oyegun; and former Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha.

    The high-powered delegation had arrived at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport earlier in the day, where they were received by the immediate past Kano Deputy Governor Aminu Gwarzo, who himself resigned from office last week ahead of his own expected defection alongside Kwankwaso.

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, already a member of the ADC, wasted no time in welcoming Kwankwaso. “When men of conviction come together, power trembles. Welcome aboard, @KwankwasoRM,” he wrote on X.

    What Kwankwaso said at the event

    Kwankwaso described his exit from the NNPP as a difficult but necessary decision, saying the current trajectory of Nigeria’s political landscape demanded strategic realignment. He expressed gratitude to the NNPP for the platform it had provided and paid tribute to the Kwankwasiyya Movement members whose loyalty had sustained his political career across multiple parties and decades.

    The defection is not a solo move. The Kwankwasiyya Movement has directed all its members across Nigeria to proceed immediately to register with the ADC at their respective wards, local government areas, and states. “This strategic decision, as always, has been taken in the best interest of the movement, our state, and the nation at large,” the movement’s statement said.

    Kwankwaso is also expected to be joined in the ADC by key political allies, including Senator Rufa’i Hanga and the Kano State NNPP Chairman, Hashim Dungurawa.

    What the ADC now represents

    With Kwankwaso‘s formal entry, the ADC has now consolidated Nigeria’s most formidable opposition coalition in a generation. The party’s membership now includes former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi, Abubakar Malami, Aminu Tambuwal, Emeka Ihedioha, and now Kwankwaso, uniting figures who collectively received over 12 million votes across different parties in the 2023 presidential election.

    Kwankwaso had polled 1,496,687 votes in the 2023 presidential race, finishing fourth behind Tinubu, Atiku, and Obi. His entry into the ADC brings with it the Kwankwasiyya Movement’s deep grassroots structure in Kano and across the North-West, a region where his influence was decisive in delivering the Kano State governorship to the NNPP’s Abba Yusuf in 2023.

    The ADC is yet to announce its 2027 presidential candidate or ticket composition. All indications point toward a joint Atiku-Obi or Obi-Kwankwaso arrangement, though no official announcement has been made. The party’s next major milestone will be a national convention expected later in the year, at which its 2027 strategy will be formally unveiled. The APC has not responded to Monday’s events. RNN.NG will continue to follow all 2027 opposition developments as they unfold.