- The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has fractured into three distinct camps following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) removal of the David Mark-led leadership from its records.
- A bloc of 25 state chairmen, backed by 2023 presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu, has appointed Kogi State Chairman Kingsley Ogga to lead a new caretaker committee.
- The crisis, rooted in tenure disputes dating back to 2022, continues to play out through conflicting claims of legitimacy, court orders, and allegations of external interference by the ruling APC.
The crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) took a more turbulent turn on Tuesday as a group of state chairmen announced they had taken control of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC).
Eko Hot Blog reports that unveiling a new caretaker leadership in Abuja, the group named Kingsley Ogga as Chairman and Odion Kennedy as Acting Secretary.
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This move follows INEC’s April 1st decision to delist the David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola-led leadership in compliance with a court order to maintain the status quo pending further litigation.
The party is now effectively split into three factions: the David Mark-led coalition, the Nafiu Gombe-led group, and the newly formed caretaker committee under Ogga.
Don Norman Obinna, the Abia State Chairman and spokesperson for the Ogga faction, insisted that the NEC is currently the only valid constitutional authority within the party.
He argued that the tenure of former chairman Ralph Nwosu expired in 2022 and that subsequent attempts to install new leaders, including the July 2025 “unveiling” of David Mark, were illegal and violated the party’s constitution.
In a sharp rebuttal, the David Mark-led group dismissed the state chairmen as “disgruntled elements” allegedly sponsored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destabilize the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
ADC Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi claimed that the Ogga faction’s press conference was an attempt to bypass a recent Federal High Court judgment that had dismissed a similar challenge to the party leadership.
Despite the delisting by INEC, Abdullahi maintained that the party would proceed with its scheduled congresses starting this Friday.
Adding to the confusion, Nafiu Gombe, who had previously been linked to the leadership transition, issued a statement distancing himself from the appointment of Mark and Aregbesola.
Gombe claimed he was present at the 2025 meeting but was “shocked” when Nwosu unilaterally announced his resignation and appointed his successors without a formal vote.
As the factions trade accusations of “power grabs” and “unholy transactions,” the ADC’s future as a unified political platform remains highly uncertain, with multiple legal battles still pending in the courts.
