By John Moses
The newly restructured African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Nigeria has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of orchestrating efforts to destabilise the party’s leadership, as internal legal disputes escalate.
Tensions rose following the appointment of former Senate President David Mark and ex-Minister Rauf Aregbesola as interim national chairman and secretary, respectively. While the ADC’s former national chairman, Ralph Nwosu, announced the dissolution of existing structures to accommodate the new leadership, dissent quickly emerged.
Some party members, including former presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu and Benue State chairman Elias Adikwu, have challenged the legitimacy of the appointments, arguing due process was ignored. “We are not part of it and will not accept it,” Adikwu was quoted as saying.
In response, three ADC members—Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu and Haruna Ismaila—filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to nullify the appointments. The plaintiffs argue the new leaders were not properly registered ADC members and that the party’s constitution does not provide for interim positions. They have also asked the court to declare the appointments unconstitutional and unlawful.
Amid the unfolding legal battle, ADC national spokesperson Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi alleged the presidency was actively working to fracture the party. He claimed federal officials had summoned ADC state executives, particularly from the North East and North West, to secret meetings aimed at pressuring them to turn against the coalition.
“We have credible intelligence that this is sabotage, not politics,” Abdullahi said in a statement. “Rather than face Nigeria’s real challenges, they are trying to undermine multiparty democracy.”
He warned that these actions risk turning Nigeria into a de facto one-party state and urged President Tinubu to restrain his advisers. “The president must prove he is a democrat. If the previous administration had been this intolerant, the APC would never have come to power in 2015,” Abdullahi argued.
Repeated attempts to obtain comments from the presidency went unanswered at the time of publication.
