2027: ADC Leaders Mull Plan B, Pursue ADA Registration

Meet coalition leaders Thursday, interim leaders return to Abuja this week | North has bled enough, says David Mark, region not abandoned – Umahi

 

As legal hurdles loom, leaders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) are not leaving anything to chance as they have decided to pursue the registration of the Advanced Democratic Party (ADA).

The decision of the opposition leaders to follow through with the ADA option, it was gathered, is a result of a threat by a member of the ADC to challenge the takeover of the opposition party by political heavyweights.

ADA is one of the many political associations seeking registration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

It was the platform that aggrieved members of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and others had wanted to use to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling party in the 2027 general election.

The interim leader of the ADA is Chief Akin Rickets, with its headquarters at UAC Complex, Samuel Ademulegan Street, Central Business District, Abuja.

LEADERSHIP had last month reported that another political association with the acronym, ADA, was seeking to be registered by INEC.

The platform is named the Advanced Democratic Alliance (ADA), which is number 110 on the list after the coalition’s ADA, which is listed as 109 on the commission’s log.

However, Umar Ardo, a key convener of the Coalition group, played down the situation, adding that they applied before the other association.

Ardo told LEADERSHIP Sunday, “No problem. We’re there before them.”

However, a former presidential candidate of the ADC, Dumebi Kachikwu, has repeatedly opposed the takeover of ADC by the coalition leaders.

A political scientist, Jideofor Adibe, last Thursday claimed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would encourage Kachikwu to engage in legal disputes with the David Mark leadership of the party to derail it from its mission of wresting power from President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

In this vein, three dissatisfied members of the ADC have reportedly filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the removal of Senator David Mark as the party’s interim leader.

The plaintiffs, Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu, and Haruna Ismaila, also contested the legitimacy of Mark and others serving as interim leaders, arguing that the transfer of the party’s leadership to those involved in the coalition arrangement may have violated an existing court judgement.

The ADC coalition, led by interim national chairman Mark and national secretary Rauf Aregbesola, has, however, clarified that all the legal requirements were sorted out before they assumed leadership.
Meanwhile, ADC state chairmen had on July 11 declared support for David Mark’s leadership after an Abuja meeting.

Speaking after the meeting, Hon. Kingsley Ogga, chairman of the ADC Forum of State Chairmen and the Kogi State party chairman, reaffirmed the support of the state chairmen to the interim leadership and the coalition following growing speculations about internal divisions within the ADC, especially among the state chapters.

The ADC further announced that at least 97 lawyers were ready to represent the party in an ongoing court case.

Sources close to the members of the coalition confided in one of our correspondents that they were already discussing the possibility of registering another party.

‘‘The leaders of the coalition are not sleeping. They know what the ruling party is capable of doing. That’s why we are planning what we can describe as Plan B. We won’t allow them to catch us unawares,’’ the source said.

However, in response to the prospects of ensuring that the ADA is registered by INEC, the ADC national publicity secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, told LEADERSHIP Sunday that the coalition won’t abandon the registration of the political association as a party.

He, however, said he won’t say whether or not ADA will be an alternative platform.

‘‘We won’t abandon the plan to register the ADA. We are still on it. But asking if it is an alternative platform, I won’t answer that, but be assured that we are still pursuing the registration,’’ he said, just as he dismissed the notion of an existing faction in the party.

‘‘There are fears that a faction has gone to court? Why do you love factions? There is no faction. A faction is a technical term. For a faction to be recognised as a faction, it means that some members or a member of the NEC of the party has gone on their own. That isn’t correct. All the members of the National Executive Committee of the party are with us. We still met on Thursday. So, there is no faction. If a state chairman in one of the states of the country decides to do whatever he likes, it is his right,” he explained.
Abdullahi, a former minister of youth development in the Jonathan administration, revealed that the feedback ADC has received from Nigerians so far has been encouraging.

“We are encouraged by the enthusiasm we have received so far. You will agree with me that where ADC was before July 1 is not what the party is today in terms of branding, recognition, and acceptability, and now we can energise the Nigerian public about the possibility of an alternative.
‘‘We have shown that we have a party that is ready to challenge for power. Don’t forget that it is a new party. It is a marathon and the work isn’t going to be done now. We have been encouraged by how Nigerians have accepted us,” he said.

Amaech’s Letter of Resignation From APC

Meanwhile, a copy of former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Ameachi’s resignation letter from the APC was sighted by LEADERSHIP Sunday yesterday.

The letter dated July 1, 2025, was addressed to the Ward 8 chairman of the APC, Ubima Ikwerre local government in Rivers State, and entitled ‘Notice of resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC)’.
In the letter, the former Rivers State governor said his resignation stemmed from an “avowed commitment to join forces with other patriotic Nigerians to rescue our dear nation from the fangs of failure, pain, and anguish which the All Progressives Congress now pellucidly symbolises.”

He said after a wide range of consultation, he was convinced that this was the appropriate moment to quit the party which “has derailed from lofty ideals that birthed its formation and so can no longer inspire hopes in Nigeria for a greater future.”

Northern Leaders Adopt ADC

Also, some northern leaders under the auspices of National Political Consultative Group (North) on Saturday adopted the ADC as a platform to advance the cause of the region.

The chairman, NPCG (North) and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, stated this while addressing journalists at the end of the third expanded meeting of the group held at the Abuja Continental Hotel (formerly Sheraton).

The NPCG (North) is founded with the objective of uniting northern political leaders and forging a strong relationship and working as a united interest group as much as possible within a political party.
Sequel to the unveiling of ADC as political party platform for the Coalition for the 2027 elections, the third expanded meeting of NPCG (North) was convened to facilitate consultations towards achieving the objective of uniting the people of the north.

Lawal noted that as mandated by northerners through reports presented from each of the 19 northern states, NPCG-North is using the ADC as a platform for the region to elect leaders who would champion its interest, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) government led by President Tinubu does not care about the interests in the north.

He lamented the challenges facing the region, including insecurity, economic deprivation, and marginalisation – all designed to humble the region, disintegrate and underdevelop it.

“It’s a meeting of Northerners, specifically to discuss as a family the problems of the North and how to look for solutions to them, how to prepare for the oncoming future, to see that we elect only somebody who has the interests of the North at heart and who will address the challenges facing the North.

“As it is, we are of the opinion that this government has no interest in solving problems confronting the North—be it infrastructure, be it peace, be it security. So we have to take the ball in our hands and work towards achieving solutions to our problems.

“We started out as what we called a Consultative Forum for Northern politicians, but as the momentum was going on, it appears that the whole of the north has decided that they will join ADC. So now the distinction between what the National Political Consultative Group is and the ADC has blurred.

“So our people have encouraged us, have directed us, and have mandated us to organise ourselves in the manner that we deliver whatever we want through the ADC.”

According to him, whoever emerges as presidential candidate “at either the congresses or at the convention, the ADC will support them, and the Northern Political Consultative Group will support that decision—be it North, South, Central, or West.”

Votes must count in 2027 – Babachir Lawal

The former SGF in the Buhari administration vowed that the group and the ADC would counter any attempt by the ruling APC to rig the 2027 general election, saying votes must count in the forthcoming polls.

“I don’t believe—no one in ADC leadership or rank and file believes that votes do not count. Votes do count. And we are going to make sure that votes do count.
This election, votes will count.

“I tell you, forget about this fear that votes will not count. APC is a party of Nigerians. ADC is one. Whatever techniques, whatever malicious activity they throw at us, we’ll counter it effectively. And we’ll counter and defeat them at it,” Lawal added.

North Has Bled Enough, says David Mark

… Region never abandoned – Umahi

Meanwhile, ADC interim national chairman, Senator David Mark, has lamented that too much blood has been shed in the Northern region, stressing that it was time to make peace.

Mark recalled that the North used to be the safest region in Nigeria, even as he admitted that the raging insecurity in the zone was self-inflicted.

He urged the North to look for the solutions to their plight from within.

The former Senate president made these comments in a keynote address he delivered at the 3rd plenary session of the Northern Political Consultative Group (NPCG) held in Abuja yesterday.

He spoke on unity and social cohesion as a panacea to the challenges facing Northern Nigeria.

LEADERSHIP Sunday reports that NPCG(North) is chaired by a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.

Mark said, “Our security challenges are self-inflicted. We cannot continue to expect solutions from elsewhere. Northern Nigeria used to be the safest part of Nigeria. There were no armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism or fraudsters, but today the story in the North is different.

‘‘The Native Authority, the precursor of today’s Local Government Area, used to have an effective community policing infrastructure where villagers protected each other. We have to find a way to re-organise our people in their villages to return to these age-old and tested practices.”

He advised that wherever conflicts arise, the North must choose dialogue over inflammable rhetoric, peace mediation over mutual annihilation, repentance and forgiveness over vengeance.

“Too much blood has been shed in our land. It is time to make peace,” he said, adding that the division, which has cost the region its progress, is widened by indifference and inaction.

He added that the North is known as a land of rich history and mineral resources, fertile land for agriculture, diverse cultures, and immense potential.

“In spite of these blessings, we are confronted with deep-seated challenges of insecurity, poverty, ethnic and religious tensions, political fragmentation, and social and economic stagnation. These challenges did not develop overnight nor will they disappear until we resolve to take deliberate, collective and decisive action.

“We must first admit that we are the architects of our problems; we must stop the blame game if we truly and genuinely want to find a lasting solution,” he said.

Mark, however, urged Northern leaders to make a commitment to healing the region by investing in unifying projects like education, healthcare and infrastructure, being accountable, rebuilding relationships across the divide and restoring the bond of brotherhood.

“If we do these, I have no doubt we will rebuild this region into a powerhouse of not just peace and social cohesion but also of economic progress, human ingenuity and compassion,” he said.

Coalition, a reunion of Old Politicians Seeking Relevance — Group

Meanwhile, a group, the APC Advocacy and Appeasement Group, has described the recently announced opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a gathering of former officeholders attempting to reclaim political relevance.

Speaking during a press briefing yesterday in Abuja, the group’s convener, Dr. Gambo Iggi, stated that many of the prominent figures associated with the ADC had previously held key positions in the country but had, in his words, “lost touch with the people.”

Dr. Iggi praised President Bola Tinubu’s administration, citing progress in areas such as local government autonomy, the NELFUND student loan scheme, ongoing civil service reforms, infrastructure renewal, and economic stabilisation efforts.

“President Tinubu is making efforts to resolve longstanding contradictions in our economic structure caused by years of mismanagement,” Iggi said.

While acknowledging current economic challenges including fuel price hikes, inflation, and youth unemployment, Iggi attributed these difficulties to what he called “a legacy of misgovernance in previous administrations.”

He argued that many of the figures now rallying under the ADC were once at the helm of affairs, having served as governors, ministers, senators, and senior party leaders in previous governments.

“These are not new faces in Nigerian politics. The same individuals have, at various points, been entrusted with leadership but left behind a trail of disillusionment among citizens,” he added.

Iggi also revealed that the group had drafted a strategic proposal tagged Presidential Taskforce on Poverty, Indiscipline and Indisposed Public Awareness (PTF-PIIPA), aimed at supporting the President’s vision and boosting public engagement with government policies.

He, however, expressed concern that their efforts to present the proposal directly to the president had not yielded any response, despite attempts through official channels since April 2024.

He said, “We believe there may be internal bottlenecks hindering access to the President, and this is a source of worry for us.”

Iggi urged the government to review and strengthen the implementation of its Renewed Hope initiatives, especially at the grassroots level, in order to deepen public trust and consolidate gains ahead of the next election cycle.