2027: We’ll resist plot to make Tinubu sole presidential candidate — ADC

By Muideen Olaniyi

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has vowed to employ every legitimate means to resist plots by anti-democratic forces within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to end competitive democracy in Nigeria.

The party, in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, accused powerful figures within the ruling APC of plotting to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe, an expelled member of the party, as ADC National Chairman.

The ADC described the move as part of the elaborate plot by the ruling party to ensure that President Tinubu emerges unopposed as the only serious contender on the ballot in 2027.

It further described the move as a calculated attempt by elements within the ruling establishment to manufacture confusion within the ADC and weaken the only viable opposition platform left in the country.

The party said there is no legal basis for any confusion as its leadership remains firmly under Senator David Mark following a combined meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) witnessed by INEC officials in July 2025.

The ADC called on the general public, party members, and democratic institutions to disregard the activities and claims of Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe and those backing his “illegitimate adventure”, stating that “We know them and their game plans and we will resist them by all means necessary. We will defend our democracy.”

The statement read: “The African Democratic Congress has uncovered a desperate and sinister plot allegedly being orchestrated by powerful figures within the ruling APC to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission into recognising a certain Nafiu Bala as the National Chairman of the ADC.

“This brazen attempt to undermine and destabilise the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections is reportedly being driven by an APC governor in collaboration with a senior security official based in Abuja as part of the plot to impose President Tinubu on Nigerians as the sole presidential contender in 2027.

“At the centre of this scheme is Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe, an expelled member of the ADC who has recently been parading himself as a leader of the party while collaborating with external political interests. Mr. Gombe, who once claimed to be Deputy National Chairman under the former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, was duly expelled from the ADC after engaging in actions that were inconsistent with the party’s constitution, its principles, and the collective decisions of its leadership.

“It is therefore shocking, though not surprising, that elements within the ruling establishment are now attempting to use him as a willing instrument of destabilisation and plot to forcefully take over the leadership of the ADC.

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“The objective is clear: to manufacture confusion within the ADC, sponsor illegitimate leadership claims, and ultimately cripple the only credible opposition platform that Nigerians are increasingly looking to as a genuine alternative, thereby leaving Nigerians no choice in the next general election, despite the widespread suffering that the ruling party has brought on the people.

It may be worth reiterating that a properly constituted combined meeting of the National Working Committee and National Executive Committee, witnessed by officials of INEC, transferred leadership to the coalition led by Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola in July 2025. This exercise was duly acknowledged by INEC with a formal recognition of the David Mark leadership in September 2025. And most recently, on March 6, a Federal High Court had dismissed a case challenging Mark’s leadership of the party, affirming a well- grounded Supreme Court judgement that matters of leadership is wholly an internal affair of political parties.

“We therefore wonder at the level of desperation that is driving these anti-democratic forces to continue in their sinister efforts to impose expelled individuals on the party or manipulate its internal structures through external political pressure on judges and electoral officials.

“Nigeria’s democracy cannot thrive where the ruling party seeks to capture, infiltrate, or manufacture opposition parties for its own political convenience and survival. Such actions represent a dangerous assault on democratic pluralism and the constitutional right of Nigerians to freely organise and support credible political alternatives….

“The ADC remains united, focused, and committed to building a strong democratic alternative for Nigerians. No amount of intimidation, infiltration, or political engineering will derail this mission.”

On Saturday, the ADC had said the Court of Appeal ruling in the ongoing leadership dispute within the party effectively left its current leadership intact, urging members and the public to disregard misleading interpretations of the judgment.

In a statement signed by its spokesman, the party explained that the appellate court dismissed the appeal on procedural grounds and did not issue any order affecting the positions of Senator David Mark as National Chairman and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary.

The party, therefore, reassured members that its national leadership remained fully in place.