A fresh political crisis has engulfed the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, has attacked former Senate President David Mark, accusing him and his allies of forcefully taking over the party.
Kachikwu alleged that the Mark-led faction sidelined duly elected executives and installed loyalists through what he described as illegally constituted committees.
He made the claims on Arise TV, just a day after a Federal High Court in Abuja barred INEC from recognising congresses organised by the faction.
According to him, the party’s constitution clearly assigns the conduct of congresses and conventions to state chairmen, making the actions of the faction a direct violation.
“In our constitution, the congresses are conducted and midwifed by the state chairman. Same thing with the convention,” he said.
He further accused the group of setting up parallel structures to displace legitimate leadership across states.
“So those congresses, what David Mark did, they set up ad hoc committees and had these committees take over the functions of the state’s escrows to bring in people they wanted.
“So I’ve had people calling me from all the states, they pushed us out, they pushed us out, they took over our party structure or whatever,” he said.
Kachikwu also revealed that some state chairmen who initially backed Mark later withdrew their support after feeling alienated.
“Some of these state chairmen were working with David Mark because they believed that these people would take the party forward, before they realised that these guys said, you guys are too poor for us, you are commoners, we cannot work with you, we need people who look more like us,” he said.
He added that many of them later admitted he had warned them.
“These guys came back to me and said, ‘What you said was right. These guys don’t mean well for the party,” he said.
Citing court developments, Kachikwu claimed the judiciary had already nullified the faction’s congresses and convention, describing the process as deeply flawed.
“The judge asked their lawyer this question, is it true that you are conducting a convention? And the lawyer said, absolutely not. On the same day they were conducting that convention,” he said.
He did not hold back in condemning the faction’s intentions.
“When you come to a party that has multiple court cases across Nigeria, and you say that that’s the party you’re going to work with, your intention is to fail,” he said.
Kachikwu also issued a firm warning against any attempt to legitimise the takeover.
“Nobody should say to me that Dumebi Kachikwu, you are the one who is tightening democracy by stopping these people. I made very, very clear that it will never happen in this party,” he said.
Earlier, he had described the court judgment as a turning point for the party’s survival.
“I had long warned that the ADC is not for sale and that these political buccaneers would be shown the way out through the same back door they came in from.
“With this judgment, it has become clear that these desperados who attempted to hijack our party have failed woefully. We are aware that they are shopping for other parties to destroy and wish them bon voyage.
“To our party faithful, I urge you to remain vigilant. The battle is not over till it is over. The ADC will be on next year’s ballot, and any Nigerian who genuinely desires to salvage Nigeria should see the ADC as a ready home. We shall overcome,” he said.
Backing the verdict, the chairman of ADC state chairmen, Kingsley Oggah, described it as a major relief.
“We see today’s court judgment as a blessing because what we have been fighting for has been resolved. We don’t want this party to die because we have laboured so much and spent time that can’t be quantified building it.
“But a few people, because of their selfish interest, are trying so hard to destroy the ADC. That is what we will not accept,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mark has reassured party members that the ADC will still feature in the 2027 elections, revealing that his legal team has filed an appeal and sought a stay of execution.
The leadership tussle is far from over, with the Supreme Court expected to rule on the dispute as the battle for control of the party intensifies.
