Another faction of the ADC emerges, supporting INEC’s rejection of David…

A third faction has emerged within the African Democratic Congress, rejecting the authority of the David Mark-led coalition and distancing itself from Nafiu Bala’s camp, as the party’s leadership crisis deepens.

The group, led by Don Obinna, claims to represent the legitimate National Executive Committee of the party.

Speaking in an interview with TVC, Obinna said the faction emerged from an emergency meeting of the NEC held on Monday, April 7, which formally decided to disassociate the ADC from Mark and his coalition, declaring that “all actions taken by them in the name of the ADC are not binding on the ADC.”

Reacting to INEC’s recent dismissal of the leadership led by Mark, Obinna backed the commission’s decision with the weight of his group.

“We are in full support of INEC’s position on this matter and commend them for their courage in finally doing what is right,” he said, adding that critics of the decision were driven by “emotions devoid of reasoning and understanding.”

The faction also disputed the status of Nafiu Bala, saying he “never held the position of ADC Vice President”, and defended former ADC presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu, describing his expulsion by the Mark Group as “an act of desperation taken too far”.

Obinna accused the Mark coalition of lacking democratic credentials, claiming they were only trying to “hijack our party and throw out the original members”, and declared that the ADC is “not for sale”.

The group announced the appointment of interim leaders to manage party affairs pending a convention at which a new national working committee will be elected. He also called on INEC to extend formal recognition to his leadership “in order to save the African Democratic Congress from total collapse”.

The development deepens an already convoluted crisis within the ADC. INEC, through its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information Committee Mohammed Haruna, announced on April 1 that it had withdrawn recognition of Mark’s leadership following a court order directing the commission to maintain the status quo pending the resolution of a case challenging the legality of that leadership.

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The commission removed both Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from its portal, while at the same time refusing to recognize Bala’s claim to the presidency.

Haruna said INEC had received conflicting legal correspondence from the opposing camps: a warning letter from Suleiman Usman SAN & Co. advising against recognizing Bala, and a counter-letter from Summit Law Chambers calling for enforcement of a Court of Appeal ruling affirming its position.

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