The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has alleged plots by an unnamed state governor and a top security chief to destabilise the leadership of the party.
The described the alleged move as part of a broader plot to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged as the only viable candidate in the 2027 presidential election.
A statement on Monday by the spokesman of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, fingered some key chieftains in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as hatchers of the alleged plot.
According to Abdullahi, the said party chiefs are in cahoots with key officials in the judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The spokesman said a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, Nafiu Bala, is being propped up to take over the leadership of the party as national chairman through the courts.
Abdullahi added that Nafiu Bala was expelled from the ADC by its previous leadership over alleged anti party activities, regretting however, that key figures in the ruling party are influencing the courts to displace the authentic ADC chairman for Bala.
Senator David Mark is the ADC National Chairman recognised by INEC, but his position is being challenged by Bala who is presently asking the courts to recognise him as the ADC national chairman.
The party described the ongoing move as a calculated attempt by elements within the ruling establishment to manufacture confusion within the ADC and weaken the only viable opposition platform left in the country.
“This brazen attempt to undermine and destabilise the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections is reportedly being driven by an APC governor in collaboration with a senior security official based in Abuja as part of the plot to impose President Tinubu on Nigerians as the sole presidential contender in 2027.
“At the centre of this scheme is Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe, an expelled member of the ADC who has recently been parading himself as a leader of the party while collaborating with external political interests.
“Mr. Gombe, who once claimed to be Deputy National Chairman under the former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, was duly expelled from the ADC after engaging in actions that were inconsistent with the party’s constitution, its principles, and the collective decisions of its leadership.
“It is therefore shocking, though not surprising, that elements within the ruling establishment are now attempting to use him as a willing instrument of destabilisation and plot to forcefully take over the leadership of the ADC.
“The objective is clear: to manufacture confusion within the ADC, sponsor illegitimate leadership claims, and ultimately cripple the only credible opposition platform that Nigerians are increasingly looking to as a genuine alternative, thereby leaving Nigerians no choice in the next general election, despite widespread suffering that the ruling party has brought on the people,” the statement added.
The ADC maintained that there is no legal basis for any confusion as its leadership remains firmly under Senator David Mark.
It added that following a combined meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) and the National Executive Committee (NEC) was monitored by INEC officials in July 2025 as required by law.
The ADC vowed to employ every legitimate means to resist plots by “anti-democratic forces within the ruling party to end competitive democracy in Nigeria.
The party also recalled that a Federal High Court, had on March 6, dismissed a case challenging Mark’s leadership of the ADC.
This, it noted, affirmed a well- grounded Supreme Court judgement that matters of leadership is wholly an internal affair of political parties.
“We therefore wonder at the level of desperation that is driving these anti-democratic forces to continue in their sinister efforts to impose expelled individuals on the party or manipulate its internal structures through external political pressure on judges and electoral officials.
“Nigeria’s democracy cannot thrive where the ruling party seeks to capture, infiltrate, or manufacture opposition parties for its own political convenience and survival.
“Such actions represent a dangerous assault on democratic pluralism and the constitutional right of Nigerians to freely organise and support credible political alternatives.
“We therefore call on the general public, party members, and democratic institutions to disregard the activities and claims of Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe and those backing his illegitimate adventure. We know them and their game plans and we will resist them by all means necessary. We will defend our democracy.
“The ADC remains united, focused, and committed to building a strong democratic alternative for Nigerians. No amount of intimidation, infiltration, or political engineering will derail this mission.”
