The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of working to eliminate opposition competition ahead of the 2027 general elections, alleging that the ruling party wants President Bola Tinubu to emerge as the only candidate.
The party’s spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the allegation on Thursday, November 12, during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, while reacting to the Federal High Court judgment that nullified the leadership of the ADC under Senator David Mark.
Justice Peter Lifu, in a ruling delivered on November 5, invalidated the Mark-led leadership and actions taken by the party’s caretaker committee.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, who challenged the process through which Mark and other members assumed leadership after the resignation of former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
The ruling has raised questions about the validity of decisions taken by the Mark-led leadership, including the process that produced Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate.
Ologbondiyan accused the APC of using the legal dispute to weaken opposition parties and undermine democratic competition.
He said, “So it now goes into what we have been saying because what we now want is that no candidate must stand against during the election, and that goes to nothing as far as we are concerned in the African Democratic Congress.”
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He disclosed that the party had taken steps to challenge the judgment, expressing confidence that the appeal process would overturn what he described as an attempt to suppress opposition voices.
“We are sure that we will go to the next level in the administration of justice; we believe that all this manipulation and attempt to suppress Nigerians, all this move to dismantle democratic structures will not work. We have seen it over and over again; it will not stand.”
The ADC spokesman further alleged that the dispute was part of a broader effort to prevent Atiku from appearing on the ballot and allow Tinubu to remain in power indefinitely.
“I want Nigerians to know, anyone thinking that this is about ADC is not reading the processes well. It is about one man who wants to turn himself into a life president”
Ologbondiyan also questioned Justice Lifu’s decision, arguing that another judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Musa Liman, had previously recognised David Mark’s leadership of the party.
He described the latest ruling as a “hired gun,” questioning how a judge of the same court and jurisdiction could reach a decision that contradicted an earlier ruling.
“Now you have a hired gun coming from nowhere, sitting in appeal on the same court of the same jurisdiction, and saying that, oh, what his own fellow brother on the bench ruled is no longer valid, when it was the same court that the party obeyed in carrying out its activities.”
The party, however, said it remained confident in the judicial process and would abide by the decision of the Court of Appeal.
On November 6, the ADC announced that it had filed an appeal and an application for a stay of execution, warning the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against taking consequential steps while the legal challenge remained pending.