The crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress took a dramatic turn on Tuesday as state chairmen of the party condemned what they called an “orchestrated political coup” by a coalition led by former Senate President, Senator David Mark.
In a statement jointly signed by the forum leader, Elias Adokwu and Publicity Secretary, Godwin Alaku, and titled “Rejecting the Political Junta by Defending ADC and Nigeria’s Democracy Against Subversion,” the chairmen described the development as a “blatant and reckless subversion” of both the party and Nigeria’s democratic norms.
Among their grievances, the chairmen accused the coalition of plotting an unconstitutional hijack of the ADC through “manipulation and backdoor dealings.”
They said, “We unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms this desperate power grab, which represents not only an aberration of democratic norms but also a grave assault on our collective political values as a nation.”
Dismissing the move as a mere disguise for selfish ambition, the ADC chairmen warned that it was not a realignment of political ideology but a “civilian junta” attempting to seize control outside legal and democratic processes.
They further described the attempted takeover as an “insult to all those who believe in and have laboured for democratic governance in Nigeria.”
The aggrieved politicians accused the coalition of working to fracture the democratic process through “selfish ambition and extra-party inducements.”
The statement, however, reaffirmed the party’s commitment to “democratic principles, the rule of law, ideological clarity, and peaceful political engagement,” stressing that the ADC would never be a platform for “political mercenaries or ideological impostors.”
They also challenged the coalition to reveal their true electoral worth, questioning their “electoral value or ideological clarity.
“The ADC is not for sale, not for hijack, and certainly not a dumping ground for discredited power brokers,” the chairmen declared.
Similarly, the chairmen urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to reject any attempt to legitimise what they termed an “illegitimate junta.”
They also called on the Nigerian public and civil society to resist “creeping authoritarianism” and demanded that law enforcement agencies investigate the unlawful bid to destabilise the party.
“We, the legitimate custodians of the ADC structure across all states of the federation, reject this illegitimate junta.
“We consider it our patriotic duty to defend the soul of the ADC and protect the sanctity of democratic structures in Nigeria,” the statement concluded.
Responding, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the party was tired of responding to non-existent issues.
He said, “How long shall we continue to respond to non-existent issues? Who are the members of this Forum of State Party Chairmen?
“Look, Nigerians should not allow themselves to be distracted from the real issues that face us as a people.
“Let us not waste our time on a gathering of a few people who are seeing that there is money to pick us from what they are doing. There is no issue that we have to respond to.”
