The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused influential figures within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to ensure that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerges unopposed as the only contender in the 2027 presidential election.
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The party vowed to resist the move by all means necessary in defence of democracy.
According to the ADC, the alleged plot is aimed at pressuring the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe, an expelled member of the party, as the ADC National Chairman.
In a statement in Abuja, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the plan is a deliberate attempt by elements within the ruling establishment to create confusion within the ADC and weaken what he described as the only viable opposition platform left in the country.
The ADC maintained there is no legal basis for any dispute, as its leadership remains firmly under Senator David Mark following a combined meeting of the National Working Committee and National Executive Committee witnessed by INEC officials in July 2025.
The party said it would employ every legitimate means to resist efforts by what it described as anti-democratic forces within the ruling party to end competitive democracy in Nigeria.
According to the statement, the attempt to destabilise the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections is allegedly being driven by an APC governor in collaboration with a senior security official based in Abuja, as part of a plot to impose President Tinubu as the sole presidential contender.
“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 inconsistent with the party’s constitution, its principles, and the collective decisions of its leadership.”
The ADC described it as “shocking, though not surprising,” that elements within the ruling establishment are attempting to use Gombe as an instrument to destabilise the party and forcefully take over its leadership.
The statement added that the objective was “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, leaving Nigerians no choice in the next general election, despite widespread suffering that the ruling party has brought on the people.”
“It may be worth reiterating that a properly constituted combined meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC), witnessed by INEC officials, transferred leadership to the coalition led by Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola in July 2025.
“This exercise was duly acknowledged by INEC with a formal recognition of the David Mark leadership in September 2025. Most recently, on March 6, a Federal High Court dismissed a case challenging Mark’s leadership, affirming a well-grounded Supreme Court judgement that party leadership is wholly an internal affair of political parties.”
The ADC questioned the desperation driving these anti-democratic forces to impose expelled individuals on the party or manipulate its structures through external political pressure.
“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.”
The ADC called on the public, party members, and democratic institutions to disregard the claims of Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe and those backing him.
“We know them and their game plans, and we will resist them by all means necessary. We will defend our democracy.” the statement added.
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