A third faction has emerged within the African Democratic Congress, rejecting the authority of the David Mark-led coalition and distancing itself from the Nafiu Bala camp, as the party’s leadership crisis deepens.
The group, led by Don Obinna, claims to represent the legitimate National Executive Committee of the party.
Speaking in a TVC interview, Obinna said the faction emerged from an emergency NEC meeting held on Monday, April 7, which formally resolved to dissociate the ADC from Mark and his coalition, declaring that “all actions taken by them in the name of the ADC are not binding on the ADC.”
Reacting to INEC’s recent delisting of the Mark-led leadership, Obinna threw his group’s weight behind the commission’s decision.
“We are in total support of INEC’s position on this matter and commend them on their bravery in finally doing what is right,” he said, adding that critics of the decision were driven by “emotions devoid of reasoning and understanding.”
The faction also disputed the status of Nafiu Bala, asserting that he “has never held the position of Deputy Chairman of the ADC,” and defended former ADC presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu, describing his expulsion by the Mark group as “an act of desperation taken too far.”
Obinna accused the Mark coalition of lacking democratic credentials, alleging they sought only to “hijack our party and throw out the original members,” and declared that the ADC is “not for sale.”
The group announced the appointment of interim leaders to manage the party’s affairs pending a convention at which a new national working committee would be elected. It also called on INEC to extend formal recognition to its leadership “in order to save the African Democratic Congress from total collapse.”
The development deepens an already convoluted crisis within the ADC. INEC, through its National Commissioner and Information Committee Chairman Mohammed Haruna, announced on April 1 that it had withdrawn recognition from Mark’s leadership following a court order directing the commission to maintain the status quo pending determination of a suit challenging the legality of that leadership.
The commission removed both Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from its portal, while also declining to recognise Bala’s claim to the chairmanship.
Haruna said INEC had received conflicting legal correspondence from opposing camps — a cautionary letter from Suleiman Usman SAN & Co. advising against recognising Bala, and a counter-letter from Summit Law Chambers seeking enforcement of a Court of Appeal judgment affirming his position.
