The internal crisis within the African Democratic Congress has deepened, as a faction led by former presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu announced plans to organise a national convention and set up an interim leadership to steer the party’s affairs.
The decision was disclosed on Tuesday, April 7, by the faction’s spokesperson, Norman Obinna, during a media briefing in Abuja.
He said the move followed concerns over attempts by former party executives to hand over leadership to individuals who were not members of the ADC.
Obinna explained that the resolution was reached at what he described as an emergency National Executive Committee meeting, attended by state chairmen and other NEC members, convened to address the lingering leadership dispute within the party.
He noted that earlier efforts at resolving the crisis through Alternative Dispute Resolution had produced an agreement for the party to hold a national convention to elect new leaders, a step he said has remained unfulfilled for nearly two years.
“The key outcome of the ADR, which was signed by both parties, was that the ADC would inevitably go into a convention to produce a new leadership. This has not been done for almost two years,” he said.
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According to Obinna, the former national leadership under Ralph Nwosu attempted to transfer control of the party in a manner he described as unlawful, including efforts to sideline existing state chairmen.
He added that the faction had already filed two separate court cases challenging those actions, even before the Independent National Electoral Commission took its recent position on the matter.
Obinna also argued that, in the absence of a functioning National Working Committee since August 2022, the NEC remains the highest legitimate authority within the party.
As part of its resolutions, the faction announced its decision to distance itself from a rival coalition associated with several prominent political figures.
“We dissociate the ADC from David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, Bolaji Abdullahi and all members of the so-called coalition. All actions taken by them in the name of the ADC are not binding on the party,” he said.