ADC in Leadership Crisis: A Party at Crossroads

By Okoi Obono-Obla

ADC in Leadership Crisis: A Party at Crossroads-

When we say that the ADC has been consumed by the miasma and maelstrom of leadership crises, fragmentation, messy litigation, and the undemocratic manner in which one group calling itself a coalition invaded the Party, supplanted itself, and took over leadership from the incumbent, some dismiss us as prophets of doom with ulterior motives. But the chicken has come home to roost.

As a result of the internecine warfare within the ADC, the Court of Appeal has directed the combatants to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending the hearing and determination of the suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe against Senator David Mark’s faction before the Federal High Court.

INEC said it would not recognize either faction and further announced that it would delist the names of Senator David Mark’s faction from its website as the national executive committee of the ADC until the Federal High Court in Abuja resolves the matter. It also stated that it would not attend and observe any congress, convention, conference, or meeting convened by both factions of the ADC.

What one would have thought when this crisis began simmering was that the leaders of the ADC would immediately move to close ranks and heal those who had been bruised. Alas, they never came down from their high horse, preferring ego‑tripping instead. Now the crisis has festered and escalated to a point of no return. Political parties in the country should learn and purge themselves of the culture of impunity and lawlessness that has become entrenched.

As things stand, the ambition of all those aspiring to pick tickets from the ADC to contest in the general elections hangs in the balance—unless a compromise is quickly struck by the combatants within the Party.

By its own self‑immolation, the ADC has unfortunately found itself in a cul‑de‑sac at the very beginning of the electoral cycle leading to the 2027 general elections, now less than a year away. What a pity.

Conclusion:
The ADC’s predicament is a cautionary tale of how unchecked ego, internal strife, and undemocratic maneuvers can cripple a political party at a critical juncture. Unless reconciliation and genuine reform take place, the Party risks irrelevance in the fast‑approaching elections.