By Ayomide Otitojui
A faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), led by its 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, has announced plans to convene a national convention and establish an interim leadership to manage the party’s affairs amid ongoing leadership disputes.
The announcement was made on Tuesday in Abuja by the group’s spokesperson, Norman Obinna, following an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting attended by state chairmen and NEC members. The meeting aimed to address the party’s protracted leadership crisis.
Obinna said previous Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) efforts had agreed on holding a convention to elect new leadership, but nearly two years later, this process had not been implemented. He accused the former leadership under Ralph Nwosu of attempting to unlawfully transfer party control to non-members and sidelining state chairmen.
“The former leadership attempted to illegally transfer control to people who were not members and sought to remove all state chairmen who did not fit elite interests,” Obinna said. The faction has filed two court cases challenging these actions.
The NEC, the group insisted, remains the highest legitimate authority in the party due to the absence of a National Working Committee since August 2022. The faction also formally disassociated the party from a rival coalition led by prominent figures including David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, and Bolaji Abdullahi, stating that all actions taken by the coalition in ADC’s name are not binding.
The faction rejected claims by Nafiu Bala Gombe to any leadership position, clarifying that he has never served as deputy national chairman. Obinna emphasized that the party remains a platform for all Nigerians, accusing the rival coalition of attempting a “power grab” at the expense of longstanding members, and reaffirmed Kachikwu’s status as a committed member.
As part of its resolutions, the faction appointed an interim leadership to oversee daily administration ahead of the proposed convention and issued a notice to diplomatic missions in Nigeria, urging them not to recognise the rival coalition as party representatives. Obinna urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to support the interim leadership to prevent the ADC from collapsing.
The leadership dispute follows legal actions, including a September 2025 suit by Gombe at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging the legality of the NWC led by Mark and Aregbesola. INEC, on April 1, removed their names from its portal, citing a court order to maintain the status quo.
The ADC, adopted as a coalition party in July 2025, plans to contest the 2027 presidential election against Bola Tinubu and has aligned with political figures including Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, and Rabiu Kwankwaso.
