ABUJA — The leadership crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) intensified on Tuesday as a third faction aligned with the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, emerged and endorsed the electoral body’s decision to withdraw recognition of the executive led by David Mark.
At a briefing in Abuja, the faction—comprising several state chairmen—announced the appointment of Kingsley Temitope, the party’s Kogi State chairman, as interim national chairman. The group also rejected the leadership claims of Nafiu Bala Gombe, insisting he did not emerge through any credible process recognised by the party’s constitution.
The faction said it supported the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to de-recognise the Mark-led executive in compliance with a ruling of the Appeal Court. It further accused former national chairman Ralph Nwosu of attempting to hand over the party structure to individuals it described as non-members.
Reading a communiqué after a meeting held at Kachikwu’s Abuja office, the faction’s publicity secretary, Obinna Don Norman, said the group had distanced itself from both the Mark and Gombe camps. He argued that the National Executive Committee (NEC) remained the only legitimate structure empowered to interface with INEC and prepare the party for upcoming elections.
“We are on a rescue mission to save the ADC from being denied the opportunity to take part in the next general election,” Norman said, adding that the NEC would step aside once ongoing legal disputes were resolved and a new executive was properly constituted.
Reacting, the Mark-led camp dismissed the development as opportunistic. Its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the courts would ultimately determine the party’s legitimate leadership. “Out of the 37 chairmen, how many were at that meeting?” he asked, describing the move as an attempt by a minority to exploit the crisis.
Similarly, the faction’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Queen Okiyi, alleged that members of the rival group were acting in pursuit of personal interests and had previously faced disciplinary action. “We cannot tolerate indiscipline. If you belong to a group, you must abide by its constitution,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said Nigeria’s democracy would remain intact even if opposition parties such as the ADC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed to appear on the ballot due to non-compliance with electoral regulations. The party’s spokesman, Seye Oladejo, stressed that participation in elections was governed strictly by law and institutional procedures.
Amid the widening dispute, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, warned that weakening opposition parties through judicial and political pressure could threaten Nigeria’s democracy. Speaking at the grand finale of the 2026 Eledumare Festival in Lagos, he cautioned that “a democracy without opposition is becoming a dictatorship” and urged the judiciary, led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to safeguard political pluralism ahead of the 2027 general elections.
