The deepening leadership crisis in the All Democratic Congress (ADC) took a dramatic turn on Tuesday as 25 state chairmen, led by Abuja State Chairman Don Norman Obinna, announced a takeover of the party’s structure and disowned factions loyal to former Senate President David Mark and Nafiu Bala.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, Obinna, flanked by chairmen from across the federation, declared that the party has no factions and backed the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) suspension of the David Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC).
In a bold move, the group unveiled an interim national executive committee, appointing Kogi State Chairman, Temitope Kingsley Ogga, as National Chairman to steer the party pending a fresh national convention.
“We have taken over the leadership of the party in line with constitutional provisions. ADC has no faction. What exists here is the legitimate structure of elected state chairmen,” Obinna said.
He dismissed both the David Mark-led NWC and Nafiu Bala’s camp as illegitimate, insisting that the party fully aligns with INEC’s position.
“This is in reaction to INEC’s delisting of the David Mark-led ADC. We have watched with amusement how some individuals mislead Nigerians without proper understanding of the party’s internal workings,” he added.
Tracing the roots of the crisis, Obinna blamed former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, accusing him of overstaying his tenure which, according to him, expired in August 2022.
He cited a 2022 Federal High Court judgment by Justice Binta Nyako, which declared that Nwosu’s tenure had lapsed and nullified all actions taken thereafter.
Obinna further alleged that Nwosu’s controversial convention in Zaria, Kaduna State, where he reappointed himself and Nafiu Bala into the NWC, was rejected by INEC and triggered prolonged litigations that escalated to the Supreme Court.
The state chairmen also accused the Mark-led leadership of sidelining key party organs and violating constitutional provisions, particularly the failure to convene statutory National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings.
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