National Chairman of ADC, David Mark, assured members that the party would be on the ballot for all elections in 2027, despite ongoing legal challenges.
Speaking last night after receiving a briefing from the party’s legal team on the recent judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Mark dismissed concerns over the litigations involving the party and expressed confidence in a favourable outcome.
He stated, “You do not have anything to be afraid of regarding all the litigations before the party. I want to assure you that we shall triumph in all the cases, and we shall be on the ballot for every election.
“We are more than prepared and ready for these cases, and we shall do everything within the ambits of the law to surmount every situation. In this legal battle, though I am not a lawyer, I will lead from the front, and we shall surely triumph.”
Nwosu: 2027 Polls Won’t Hold Without ADC
Founding National Chairman of ADC, Ralph Nwosu, declared to members of the party that 2027 elections would not hold if the party was not on the ballot.
Nwosu also stated that the opposition party had already secured required statistics and numbers to take over from the incumbent President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja at the party’s national secretariat during the ADC Youths Champion and Prospective Legislative Summit, organised by the office of the National Youth Leader, Nwosu said with the coalition, the party had recorded phenomenal achievements.
He added that up till Tuesday evening, some serving senators in the ruling APC and other parties were still talking to the ADC leadership to join the party.
Nwosu revealed further that in taking over ADC, the coalition did everything right and nothing was done wrong, blaming the current challenges facing the party on the existing culture of impunity in Nigeria politics.
He stated, “The culture in place is dirty. It’s very difficult to change the culture but we will continue working very hard to do so once we are determined. You don’t need a million people to do it, you just need a few determined minds.
“With the number we have today in ADC, what we have achieved by the coalition is phenomenal and no matter how anybody thinks they can knock this down, they cannot.
“To knock this down will be almost as knocking our democracy down and God will not allow that. We have put enough strategies in place to ensure that it doesn’t happen.
“But what you may hear happening and see happening now, when people in power, especially in the Third World countries, people who love impunity and feel that they can play God, when they are in power they would try everything, especially when it’s clear to them that their time is over.
“The time is over for Tinubu politically, and he must go. The time is over for Akpabio (Senate President), and they must go.”
ADC Seeks Legal Advice
ADC, on Wednesday, said it had asked its legal team to advise the party on the judgement of Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, which dismissed all of its congresses and national convention.
In a statement by ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said, “Attention of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has been drawn to media reports that the Federal High Court, presided over by Hon. Justice Joyce O. Abdulmalik, has sacked the elected, but yet to be inaugurated, State Chairmen of our party.
“It would be recalled that we issued a statement shortly after the congresses stating that the congresses have not truncated the tenure of the current State Executive, which would run its full course before the newly elected State Executives are inaugurated.
“Nevertheless, the leadership of ADC has instructed its legal team to review the said judgement and advise the party appropriately.”
Our Party Remains Valid, Says Osun ADC
Osun State chapter of ADC, on Wednesday, reassured its members of the party’s continued validity, stating that the recent court ruling does not nullify its recently conducted congresses.
In a statement by the state’s Publicity Secretary-elect, Abosede Oluwaseun, ADC clarified that the judgement by the Federal High Court only restrained INEC from recognising the congresses. Oluwaseun explained that this position aligned with existing legal processes and did not differ from INEC’s earlier stance on the matter
The statement said, “We urge everyone to remain calm and focused. The recent court ruling did not nullify ADC congresses nationwide. It only restrained INEC from recognising the recently conducted congresses, which is consistent with the current legal processes already in place.”
The statement further said the party’s leadership had already outlined a transition process, with arrangements in place for the swearing-in of newly elected executives upon the expiration of the current tenure on May 12, 2026.
It maintained that ADC remained a valid and functioning political party under the leadership of Mark and Aregbesola.
The statement said the situation was part of an ongoing legal process, with the final position expected to be clarified by the Supreme Court.
The party also urged its stakeholders to remain united, law-abiding, and committed to its collective goals ahead of the 2027 elections.
Kachikwu: ADC Not for Sale
The 2023 presidential candidate of ADC, Dumebi Kachikwu, on Wednesday, declared that the party was “not for sale,” following a Federal High Court judgement that nullified the party’s congresses and national convention.
In his reaction to the ruling delivered in Abuja, while addressing journalists, Kachikwu described the voided exercises as the handiwork of “desperados” and “political buccaneers” who had attempted to hijack the party’s structure for selfish interests.
“I had long warned that the African Democratic Congress is not for sale and that these political buccaneers would be shown the way out through the same back door they came in from,” he said.
He said the verdict exposed what he called a failed plot to seize control of the party through illegitimate means.
Kachikwu claimed, “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.”
Kachikwu cautioned party faithful against complacency, stressing that the internal battle was not yet over.
“To our party faithful, I urge you to remain vigilant. The battle is not over till it is over. The ADC will be in 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 stated.
Chuks Okocha, Alex Enumah, Sunday Aborisade and Yinka Kolawole
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