ADC writes INEC, seeks recognition of David Mark’s leadership

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has notified the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the change of its national working committee (NWC).

In a letter dated July 29 and addressed to Mahmood Yakubu, INEC’s chairman, Ralph Nwosu, the party’s founder and former national chairman, and Sai’d Abdullahi, the secretary, said the national executive committee (NEC) of the party approved the new ADC leadership.

“We write to officially submit to the commission the minutes of our last NEC meeting held on Tuesday, 29th of July 2025,” the letter reads.

“The enclosed minutes outline the key discussions, resolutions, and strategic decisions made during the meeting, including the invocation of article 19(12)(vii) and article 19(14) (N.O.P & S) of the ADC Constitution 2022, which empowers NEC to exercise the powers and perform all the functions of the National Convention pending the next National Convention.

“This submission reflects our continued commitment to transparency, good governance, and adherence to regulatory standards.”

In a post on X on Wednesday, David Itopa, ADC’s deputy national welfare secretary, criticised the electoral umpire for not recognising the party’s new NWC despite the notification.

“It is instructive to note that the ADC, after its NEC meeting, which was held last week with the supervision of INEC, has transmitted a letter to INEC signalling the change in leadership of the party,” he wrote.

“It is, however, disturbing that INEC has yet to update its portal to reflect the change in leadership as of this moment. Nigerians should ask INEC why it is taking so long to effect the change.”

BACKGROUND

Last month, opposition politicians and some ADC leaders adopted the party as the coalition platform for the 2027 elections.

Some of the coalition members include ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Uche Secondus, former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna; Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023; Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of transportation; and Odigie Oyegun, former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Former Senate President David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, ex-minister of interior, and Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports, were appointed as interim chairman, secretary and spokesperson, respectively. The party subsequently appointed other members to the various NWC positions.

On July 2, Nwosu announced the resignation of the NWC and endorsed the interim leadership headed by Mark.

The party’s founder has claimed that he was offered three ministerial appointments to drop the plan to turn the party into an opposition coalition platform.

Some party stakeholders have fiercely opposed the adoption of the ADC as a coalition platform, describing the arrangement as a hijack.

On July 31, Nafiu Bala, a former governorship candidate of the ADC in Gombe, declared himself the national chairman of the party.

On August 4, a group known as the Concerned State Chairmen of the ADC asked the coalition members to form a new party, saying the ADC is not for sale.