By Onyeanya Ebere Immaculata
The crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), deepened on Tuesday as the party’s state chairmen denounced what they described as an unconstitutional attempt by a group led by former Senate President David Mark to seize control of the party.
In a joint statement titled “Rejecting the Political Junta by Defending ADC and Nigeria’s Democracy Against Subversion,” Forum Leader Elias Adokwu and Publicity Secretary Godwin Alaku called the move a “blatant and reckless subversion” of democratic norms.
They accused the group of orchestrating a “political coup” through manipulation and backdoor dealings, warning that it amounted to a “civilian junta” seeking to hijack the ADC outside legal and democratic processes.
“We unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms this desperate power grab,” the chairmen said, describing it as a threat to Nigeria’s democratic values.
The forum said the attempted takeover disrespected those who had worked to build and sustain the party’s democratic structures. They accused the coalition of pursuing selfish ambitions and offering inducements to subvert internal party processes.
Despite the internal turmoil, the chairmen reaffirmed their commitment to democracy, rule of law, and ideological clarity, insisting that “the ADC is not for sale, not for hijack, and certainly not a dumping ground for discredited power brokers.”
They urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to resist any attempt to legitimise the alleged plot, and called on Nigerians, civil society, and security agencies to reject what they described as creeping authoritarianism.
“We, the legitimate custodians of the ADC structure across all states of the federation, reject this illegitimate junta,” they concluded. “We consider it our patriotic duty to defend the soul of the ADC and protect the sanctity of democratic institutions in Nigeria.”
