David Mark, ADC Interim National Chairman
The Interim National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), David Mark, has assured that “no presidential aspirant will be given preferential treatment,” pledging complete transparency under his leadership.
At a stakeholders’ meeting of the Kogi State chapter in Abuja yesterday, Mark emphasized that all party members are “equal stakeholders and co‑owners,” and the immediate goal is to establish “a strong and credible platform that can win the trust of Nigerians.”
He declared, “The ADC has no preferred or favoured presidential aspirant. We are first focused on building a platform that is attractive and acceptable to the majority of Nigerians.”
He added: “We must act now to prevent this great ship called Nigeria from sinking. If we don’t rise up together, it will go down with all of us.”
Mark also called for unity: “We must bond together to build the party before we can start talking about individual ambitions,” adding, “I don’t own this party more than any other member. We must show Nigerians that ADC is different, a party ready to run democracy properly in this country.”
He took aim at the ruling APC’s handling of insecurity, saying, “If the APC admitted that insecurity was a problem and promised to fix it, but ended up making it worse, why should Nigerians still support them?”
He urged a collective focus on national rebuilding: “Let us not waste time attacking individuals. Instead, let us focus on rebuilding our nation and securing a better future for generations to come.”
Meanwhile, amid concerns over internal divisions and fears of pre‑election collapse, the ADC has instructed all its leaders with presidential ambitions to “suspend any public expression of interest until solid party structures are established,” ahead of the 2027 elections.
Salihu Lukman, a key party stakeholder, conveyed this during an appearance on AIT’s Jigsaw programme in Abuja yesterday.
He said that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 PDP candidate; Peter Obi, ex‑Labour Party flagbearer; and ex‑Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi are all rumored to be eyeing the party’s 2027 ticket.
Lukman stressed: “What we are telling everybody in the coalition is that the structures of the party will not be handed over to aspiring candidates.”
He maintained that ADC must first build a self‑regulating party structure.
He further explained, “I think that the suspension of the expression of ambition has to continue. I can see some leaders have already become hyper‑reactive.”
Lukman also dismissed claims by Dumebi Kachikwu that ADC had been hijacked, pointing out that Kachikwu “lacked the locus standi to challenge the leadership of Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola.”
He revealed that Kachikwu had been expelled and explained that ADC leadership had conducted “legal due diligence” and verified things with INEC before entering a coalition.
“I can tell you, some of the issues being raised in the public about some of the litigation, there are issues which, even by INEC records… you’ll find out that they have been resolved long ago.”
He added: “…the Dumebi Kachikwu who came out to make noise… by the record of INEC… Dumebi Kachikwu and some others, I think about 15 of them, have been expelled from the party.”
Lukman also informed INEC and the APC-led Federal Government that they must not obstruct registering new parties, confirming the coalition’s support for registering the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), saying: “We want to ensure that INEC discharges its responsibility.”
The ADC accused the APC of mounting “a legal plot” against its interim leadership by using names not found in Kogi or Nasarawa party registers “shocking and desperate,” the ADC said. In response, the ADC’s National Legal Support Group announced that “98 lawyers have volunteered to represent the party in the suit,” noting, “This overwhelming support from the legal community reflects the confidence in our cause.”
The ADC condemned President Bola Tinubu’s administration after Nigeria was excluded from a recent high-level U.S.–Africa trade meeting at the White House.
In a statement by ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the exclusion was a “damning verdict on Nigeria’s declining global relevance under the APC government.”
Abdullahi said that while the meeting included leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal, Nigeria, despite being “Africa’s largest economy and most populous country” was omitted.
He said, “What this means in plain language is that under President Tinubu, Nigeria is no longer taken seriously,” going on: “The U.S. chose to bypass us in favour of nations whose combined GDP is a fraction of ours.”
He lamented that just a few years ago, Nigeria would have automatically participated, but now finds itself “sidelined.”
He blamed the Tinubu administration’s “weak diplomacy, incoherent economic management, and failure to uphold Nigeria’s strategic weight.”
Referencing Nigeria’s BRICS membership, he cautioned that it “should not come at the cost of Nigeria’s standing with Western allies,” especially with Donald Trump threatening a “ten per cent tariff on Nigeria.”
He added that Tinubu’s week-long trip to St. Lucia—a nation with “less than one per cent of Nigeria’s GDP” remained unexplained.
The ADC warned that “Nigeria is punching below its weight” and urged citizens to reject what it calls the APC’s “culture of propaganda over performance.”
Felix Morka, APC National Publicity Secretary, retorted by labelling the ADC a “coalition of Nigeria’s most inept politicians” and accused it of spreading “phantom lies… to cover up its internal crisis.”
He said ADC’s claims such as a “secret meeting” where zonal chairmen were supposedly coerced, were unsubstantiated, dismissing them as “vague” and “mischievous.” According to him, the ADC is “drowning in its own confusion.”
He described the coalition as “failed and restless presidential contenders” lacking a “coherent vision for Nigeria,” adding that previous leadership records of figures such as Peter Obi, Nasir El‑Rufai, Rauf Aregbesola, and Hadi Sirika were “marred by incompetence.”
“None of the proponents of the coalition has the vision, the courage, competence, credibility, track record, zeal and patriotism to serve Nigeria better than President Bola Tinubu,” Morka asserted.
He concluded that while the opposition is immersed in “self-inflicted confusion,” the Tinubu-led government remains “focused on rebuilding Nigeria.”
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, claimed there is a conspiracy to remove the president, describing his administration as “the most focused and transformative in Nigeria’s history.”
Speaking on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, he quoted Emir Sanusi II: “’It’s not going to be easy.’ If anybody tells you it would be easy, don’t vote for him.”
Onanuga warned of “haters of Nigeria’s progress” working to “overthrow an administration that has been the most focused, most transformative in our history,” linking this alleged plot to the newly formed ADC opposition coalition.
