JOIN ADC IN DEFENCE OF DEMOCRACY ‘ONE-PARTY-SYSTEM’ AN ABBERATION OBI TELLS NIGERIANS

After a period of calm, a leadership fight within the party got worse on April 1. INEC took away recognition from the Mark and Bala groups, saying it was because of a court of appeal decision from March 12.

During this time, videos that spread online showed Bala was there when the Mark group announced their leadership in July 2025.

In a statement on Tuesday, Bala confirmed he was present but said there was no previous agreement to appoint the leadership led by Mark.

He claimed that Ralph Nwosu, the former national chairman of the ADC, forced the Mark-led executives onto the party members without consulting the national working committee.

However, the crisis rocking the party took a dramatic twist on Tuesday when the ADC state chairmen forum turned down the factions led by Mark and Bala.

Speaking on behalf of the forum at a news conference in Abuja, Don Obinna, chairman of the ADC in Abia, said Mark and Bala “hijacked” the party from “bonafide” members.

He backed INEC’s decision to withdraw its recognition of the Mark and Bala factions following an interim ruling by the appeal court.

The Mark-led leadership has repeatedly described INEC’s stance, and the sprouting of factions from within its ranks, as an assault on the country’s democracy.

In a Wednesday post on X, Obi restated this narrative, urging all Nigerians to unite against “a one-party system”.

“We, members and leaders of the ADC, and other well-meaning Nigerians, lovers of democracy, are saying that our democracy must not be killed,” he wrote.

“We say NO to a one-party system and for that today we’re calling out Nigerians who believe in unity, peace, and security of our country to join us as we defend democracy in our land.”

Last Saturday, the Mark-led ADC said it has appointed envoys in 12 foreign cities as part of an initiative to draw global attention to the “growing pattern of undemocratic practices and attacks on opposition members” in Nigeria.

In a statement, Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC national publicity secretary, identified Washington DC, London, Brussels, Berlin, Ottawa, Paris, Pretoria, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Accra, Geneva, and New York as key engagement capitals.