The leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared that the 2026 National Convention 2026 will hold as originally scheduled, despite a recent stance from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) regarding the party’s internal leadership disputes.
ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, stated this on Thursday while speaking on Arise Television’s Morning and monitored by Pan-Atlantic Kompass reassuring delegates and party faithful nationwide that the preparations for the elective gathering remain in top gear.
This defiant posture follows a period of legal back-and-forth and an updated position on the INEC website indicating that several national executive positions within the ADC are currently held “by court order.”
INEC, through its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, announced the decision in a statement on Wednesday.
It hinged its decision on a court order which directed the commission to maintain the status quo pending the determination of a suit challenging the legality of David Mark’s leadership of the opposition party.
However, the ADC has maintained that its congresses and National convention will hold as planned.
Abdullahi said the party had already issued the required 21-day notice to INEC for its activities, noting that the commission had acknowledged receipt of the notice.
He maintained that the ADC would not halt its internal processes regardless of INEC’s position, stressing that the party remains committed to carrying out its congresses and convention as scheduled.
The spokesman also expressed concern over what he described as growing threats to Nigeria’s democracy, warning against attempts to limit political competition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said: “If we’re in a military regime, we can understand it. We find ourselves in a situation where everything is being done to ensure that the 2027 election is a fait accompli, leaving Nigerians with no option or choice. We’ve seen how this has ended in the past.
“So we are saying that we will go ahead with our congresses. We have given INEC 21 days’ notice. They have accepted the notice.
“So whether they come or not, we’ll continue with our congresses, we’ll continue with our convention.
“We are all Nigerians. We can see what is going on. We can see our democracy unraveling before our very eyes.”
Earlier, in a statement on Wednesday, Abdullahi had accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (ADC)of attempting to hijack its leadership, while vowing to resist any such move through lawful and democratic means.
Abdullahi further claimed that the APC plans to sponsor a crowd posing as disgruntled party members to take to the streets and demand the removal of David Mark from his position.
The statement read in part, “Yesterday, we disclosed a sinister plot by agents of the ruling APC government to pressure INEC into taking illegal action to destabilise our party, following the milestone movement of H.E. Rabiu Kwankwaso to the ADC.
“After meeting a brick wall with INEC, they have now changed tactics, but the objectives remain the same. Information reaching us this morning is that a public protest is being planned for tomorrow, Thursday, 2nd April, in Abuja, sponsored by a particularly notorious minister. They expect that a protest will give oxygen to a case already suffocating in the courts under the weight of its own illegality.
“The plan is simple: a paid crowd, posturing as aggrieved party members, will take to the streets demanding David Mark Must Go. This, they hope, will create public pressure on the INEC Chairman to magically upgrade and recognise an individual who resigned his position and was subsequently expelled from the ADC, to the position of National Chairman of a party he no longer belongs to.
“The plan by the ruling APC government to hijack the leadership of the ADC, the only viable opposition party left in the country, is real. If anything, it has assumed a new level of desperation in the past few days.
“They are not just afraid of our momentum. They are afraid of what happens when the Nigerian people start paying attention and begin to believe that change is possible.”
