Felix Morka says the opposition party “was a party that never was”, insisting the APC had no hand in INEC’s move and that the ADC’s leadership collapse was self-inflicted.
ABUJA, Nigeria — The All Progressives Congress (APC) has hit back hard at the African Democratic Congress (ADC). They dismissed accusations that they are behind the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission. This decision was to derecognise the David Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC).
In a sharply worded statement, Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary, signed off. The ruling party said the ADC had become an “assembly of Nigeria’s most confused and desperate politicians.” It accused the ADC of trading in “rabid conspiracy theories” instead of confronting its own internal crisis.
The APC’s response lands at a critical time. The opposition party is already in turmoil over INEC’s action. The electoral commission says this action followed its review of a Court of Appeal judgment in the long-running leadership dispute.
INEC has made a statement. It will no longer recognise the David Mark-led faction. It will also not recognise the rival Nafiu Bala Gombe camp. This decision stands while the substantive case remains before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
INEC decided to remove the names of Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from its portal. This decision is at the center of the controversy. They were listed as the party’s national chairman and national secretary, respectively.
The commission says it acted in line with the preservatory orders of the appellate court. It wanted to avoid taking steps that could prejudice the case before the trial court.
The ADC has rejected that interpretation. They accuse INEC of bowing to pressure. They warn that the commission is drifting towards political partisanship.
The party has blamed the APC. It sees this as an attempt to destabilise the opposition. This happens at a sensitive time in the build-up to 2027.
Morka, still, dismissed that line of attack as fantasy. He argued that the APC was not the problem of the ADC. He said the controversy was the result of the party’s own “reckless and desperate misadventure.”
In his telling, the Mark and Aregbesola camp “parachuted into the party.” They seized control, violating constitutional procedure and the rule of law.
That is the APC’s central defence. INEC did not act at the behest of the ruling party. Instead, they responded to legal processes and a party structure that, according to the commission’s own account, had already fractured.
INEC said the Mark-led NWC emerged following the resignation of the Ralph Okey Nwosu-led leadership at a National Executive Committee meeting on 29 July 2025. However, the legitimacy of that transition is now contested in court.
The APC insists the matter is therefore an internal affair of the ADC, not a conspiracy hatched in Abuja’s corridors of power.
“They did that. They completely ignored the rule of law,” Morka said in the statement. He argued that the party’s failure to follow due process has left it “grossly unfit” to be taken seriously by Nigerians.
The language is classic APC. It is combative and dismissive. It is designed to shift the spotlight away from the governing party. This shifts the focus back on to the opposition’s house order.
Morka went further. He said the ADC “has absolutely nothing to offer more than its senseless attacks against the APC.” He claimed that attacking the ruling party has become the ADC’s “cardinal commitment and manifesto.”
He tied the party’s rebuttal to President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He stated that the APC and the government remain “steadfast in delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda.” They are also strengthening democratic institutions.
That line is politically significant. It frames the APC’s position not merely as a defence of INEC. It serves as an endorsement of the wider institutional order under the Tinubu presidency.
The wider political calculation is equally clear. The APC knows the opposition’s internal fractures have become one of the defining storylines of the 2027 cycle.
The ADC had hoped to present itself as a gathering point for disaffected political forces. Now, it finds itself fighting on two fronts. First, it faces a legal battle over who legitimately leads the party. Second, it contends with a public relations war over whether it is being politically targeted.
That tension was visible on the same day INEC acted. The ADC rejected the decision. Other opposition voices accused the commission of overreach.
The party’s publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC would proceed with its congresses and convention. This decision is in defiance of INEC’s stance, indicating that the crisis is far from settled.
What is unmistakable is that the APC has chosen to meet every accusation with contempt rather than caution.
The ruling party called the ADC “a party that never was.” It also described it as a self-destructive political contraption. This action has turned a legal and administrative dispute into a full-blown political humiliation for its rivals.
For now, the legal dispute remains the engine of the controversy, but the political noise is doing equal damage. INEC says it is following the court. The ADC says it is being ambushed. The APC says the opposition is imploding on its own.
That three-way clash has left the party system exposed. Nigeria’s ruling class is arguing over power. Meanwhile, the courts decide who exactly has the right to speak for whom.
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