The African Democratic Congress is caught in a desperate race against time, with party congresses scheduled to begin in just four days, a court hearing set for eight days later, and the Independent National Electoral Commission refusing to recognise or monitor any of its activities.
At the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, a packed hall of opposition figures, party members, and supporters gathered to chart a path forward — but the path remains unclear, the clock unforgiving, and the stakes existential.
The Timeline Crisis
The ADC has fixed dates for its internal processes:
Meanwhile, the court is expected to hear the substantive case again on April 17 — three days after the party’s planned national convention.
Miss these windows, and the race could be over before it even begins.
The party faces a brutal dilemma: Move ahead without INEC, and risk everything being voided later. Or wait for the courts, and risk missing the election entirely.
“We have given INEC 21 days’ notice. They have accepted the notice. So whether they come or not, we’ll continue with our congresses,” declared Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the ADC.
At the centre of the gathering stood Aisha Yesufu, frontline activist serving as Deputy Chairman of the committee overseeing Membership, Revalidation, Mobilisation and Registration within the ADC.
Dressed in her trademark blue-grey hijab, she stood composed, her posture firm, her gaze steady.
“We are not intimidated. We are not afraid. We are not thinking of giving up,” she said.
Then she added, more quietly but with weight: “Nigeria is at war. Going into 2027, Nigeria is at war, and we are fighting for our lives and the soul of this nation.”
The gathering drew an unprecedented assembly of opposition figures: Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Rauf Aregbesola, Rotimi Amaechi, Liyel Imoke, Dino Melaye, Solomon Dalung, and Victor Umeh.
Their presence was not mere attendance — it was a signal.
The crisis began on September 2, 2025, when a suit was filed at the Federal High Court questioning the legitimacy of the current ADC leadership.
The claimant, Nafiu Bala Gombe, is asking the court to recognise him as acting national chairman and to stop the current leadership under former Senate President David Mark from operating.
On March 12, 2026, the Court of Appeal made a key decision. It did not decide who is right. Instead, it ordered all parties to maintain the “status quo ante bellum” and warned against any action that could render the final judgment useless.
In simple terms: pause everything.
But politics rarely pauses just because the courts say so.
After the Court of Appeal ruling, INEC withdrew recognition from all sides. It stopped dealing with the party. It said it would not monitor any activities.
From a legal standpoint, the logic is straightforward: recognising one faction could amount to disobeying a court order.
But on the ground, the effect is devastating.
For party members across the country, it means planning in the dark — organising meetings, printing materials, mobilising supporters, without knowing if any of it will count.
In Abuja, one ward organiser, Moses Shekwolo, put it plainly: he has already postponed three meetings ahead of the upcoming congresses scheduled to commence on April 9.
“We don’t even know which list will eventually stand at the end of the day,” he said.
Beyond the leadership crisis, another legal battle looms — less visible, but potentially more final.
Before the Federal High Court in Abuja, a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/25 is asking the court to compel INEC to deregister the African Democratic Congress and several other parties entirely.
The case was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators against INEC, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the affected parties.
At its core is a constitutional question: whether INEC is not just empowered, but obligated, to strike off parties that fail to meet minimum electoral performance thresholds set by law.
If this case succeeds, the implications are immediate and absolute. The party ceases to exist, instantly. Its structures, its leadership disputes, its planned congresses and convention, even its role in the emerging opposition coalition — all of it collapses into irrelevance at once.
David Mark, Interim National Chairman of the ADC and former Senate President, demanded a change in the leadership of INEC, accusing the government of plotting a one-party state.
“We demand the immediate resignation or sack of the INEC Chairman, Professor Amupitan, and all the National Commissioners… This attack on democracy will not stand,” he said.
Mahmud Jega, a public affairs analyst, warned of a deliberate weakening of the opposition and urged caution from INEC.
“The impression INEC is giving is that it is part of the scheme to destroy all opposition parties. The opposition wanted the ADA; INEC sat on it for two years. Now they have moved to ADC, and they are coming up with something else. INEC has to be very careful,” he said.
Solomon Dalung, former Minister of Youth and Sports Development and an ADC chieftain, pushed back strongly against INEC’s warning and freeze.
