ADC says a planned Abuja protest is meant to bully INEC, weaken David Mark’s leadership and derail the opposition surge after Rabiu Kwankwaso’s defection.
ABUJA, Nigeria — The African Democratic Congress has thrust Nigeria’s opposition realignment into a fresh storm, accusing the ruling APC of plotting to use a street protest in Abuja to destabilise its leadership and force the Independent National Electoral Commission into taking sides.
ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi made the allegation in a statement. It was carried on X and republished by several national outlets on Wednesday.
The party said, according to the statement, that a “paid crowd” is being assembled for Thursday, 2 April. They plan to march under the slogan “David Mark Must Go”.
ADC says the plan is designed to create political noise around a leadership fight. The fight is already before the courts. They describe it as an earlier failed attempt to push INEC into “illegal action” against the party.
The timing is politically loaded. ADC’s allegation comes only days after Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso formally joined the party in Kano. Punch reported on this move on 30 March 2026. The former NNPP presidential candidate received his membership card at Gidan Kwankwasiyya.
David Mark, Aminu Tambuwal, Rotimi Amaechi, Peter Obi, Dino Melaye, and John Odigie-Oyegun attended that event. This underscores how quickly ADC has become the gathering point for Nigeria’s restless anti-establishment bloc.
For the avoidance of doubt, the leadership crisis is not imaginary. The Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed David Mark’s appeal on 13 March 2026 in the ongoing ADC leadership dispute. However, the court did not determine the substantive case.
ThisDay reported that ADC insisted the ruling left Mark and Rauf Aregbesola in place. They stated the matter remained pending before the Federal High Court. The court had ordered the parties to maintain the status quo.
INEC is now being dragged directly into the political crossfire. The commission’s official website states that Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan, SAN, was sworn in as chairman on 23 October 2025. He now leads the electoral body.
ADC says a letter from senior advocates dated 28 March is being used to pressure INEC to overturn party decisions and recognise an expelled member. This claim, at this stage, remains the party’s allegation rather than an independently verified fact.
The deeper contest is about power, perception and who controls the opposition lane before 2027. ADC has repeatedly framed itself as the main alternative to the APC. David Mark has openly accused the ruling party of posing a threat to multiparty democracy.
Just last week, ADC announced congress timetables and a national convention plan. This suggests that the party is moving to consolidate itself. Legal and factional attacks are intensifying.
Atlantic Post could not independently verify the claim that APC is sponsoring the proposed protest. The reports reviewed for this story found no official APC response.
What is clear, however, is that the political temperature has risen sharply since Kwankwaso’s entry into ADC. Every side now appears to be testing the limits of law, optics, and institutional pressure.
Fact-Check: Kwankwaso’s move to ADC is confirmed. The ADC leadership case is real and still live. INEC’s current chairman is Joash Ojo Amupitan. The alleged APC-backed protest remains unverified beyond ADC’s accusation.
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