ADC Crisis Deepens as Abejide, Bala Accuse Mark of Contempt

2027 Election Watch

ADC Crisis Deepens as Abejide, Bala Accuse Mark of Contempt

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Atlantic Post

April 17, 2026

4–5 minutes

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The African Democratic Congress has been dragged deeper into a dangerous legitimacy war after its April 14 Abuja convention expelled factional chairman Nafiu Bala Gombe, House of Representatives member Leke Abejide and several others, only for the two men to reject the action as illegal, contemptuous and already defeated in court.

The latest clash is no longer a routine party quarrel. It now sits at the intersection of internal power struggle, court orders, INEC recognition and the wider battle for control of an opposition platform that many had hoped would emerge as a serious force ahead of 2027.

At the centre of the storm is the David Mark aligned bloc, which went ahead with the convention in Abuja and announced the expulsion of Bala, Abejide and others on allegations of anti party conduct and destabilisation.

The party said the exercise drew more than 3,000 participants and passed its motions under the Mark backed leadership. But the counter camp says the gathering had no lawful basis from the outset, arguing that the organisers had no standing to convene a valid convention while the leadership dispute remained active before the courts.

INEC’s own posture has become one of the most important parts of the dispute. On April 1, the commission deleted the names of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from its portal as National Chairman and National Secretary of the ADC, saying it was acting on a Court of Appeal order and would not receive further communication or monitor any meeting, congress or convention convened by any group on behalf of the party until the Federal High Court determines the matter.

That position, reported by ThisDay and reflected in INEC’s statement, gives the Bala camp a powerful argument that the Mark aligned convention ran directly against the spirit, and possibly the letter, of the status quo preserved by the appellate court.

Bala has now escalated the matter beyond political grievance. In his public remarks, he insisted the case is not an “internal party affair” and warned that the dispute has acquired a criminal edge because of allegedly forged documents bearing his signature.

He also accused Mark and his associates of hiding behind Section 83(5) of the Electoral Act 2026, while insisting that the same law still allows courts to intervene where party constitutions are breached or members’ rights are infringed.

His core claim is simple but explosive. The faction that expelled him, he says, is not lawfully entitled to do so and cannot use a disputed convention to sanitise an already contested structure.

Abejide has sharpened that line further. He described the expulsion as a nullity, said the organisers were “not even members” of the party in the relevant legal sense, and accused the rival camp of trying to destroy the ADC from within.

He also framed the move as contempt of court, saying his lawyers had been briefed and warning that the crisis could damage the party’s electoral prospects if not swiftly resolved.

In his telling, the issue is not merely who controls a letterhead or who sits in a chair at a convention hall. It is about whether a party that wants to project itself as an alternative can openly defy court restraints and still claim democratic legitimacy.

The deeper political significance lies in the fragmentation already visible inside the ADC. Punch reported that the party has been in prolonged crisis since 2025, with disputes over the end of Ralph Nwosu’s tenure and the rise of a new National Working Committee under Mark’s leadership.

That struggle has now generated multiple camps, including the Mark aligned coalition bloc, the Bala bloc and another group linked to former presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu.

In practical terms, this means the ADC is not merely fighting over offices. It is fighting over who can speak for the party, who can sign documents, who can be recognised by INEC and, ultimately, who can field candidates without legal sabotage in the run up to 2027.

What makes this episode especially combustible is the timing. Bala and Abejide say the convention was held while related legal questions were still live before the courts, with Bala pointing to a pending suit before Justice Emeka Nwite.

Vanguard also reported that the factional leaders claimed the convention was illegal and in direct violation of subsisting court orders, while warning that any outcome from the gathering could be nullified.

That creates the appearance of a party acting first and litigating later, a strategy that may produce short term political theatre but often leaves deeper scars in the form of injunction battles, parallel claims and electoral uncertainty.

For now, the immediate question is not which faction can shout the loudest. It is which side the courts, and INEC, will ultimately treat as legally competent to speak for the ADC.

Until that is resolved, every convention, expulsion, signature and press conference risks becoming another exhibit in a widening dispute that could weaken the party’s credibility at precisely the moment it needs discipline, structure and public trust.

In a political environment already crowded with opposition realignments, the ADC’s latest implosion is a reminder that ambition without legal clarity can quickly turn into institutional chaos.