National chairman of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has told members that failure is not an option for the party.
The former Senate president made the assertion in his welcome remarks during the inaugural meeting of the ADC National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja Tuesday, 7 October 2025.
The NWC meeting approved dates for the Ekiti and Osun primary elections. The Ekiti primaries will take place from October 10 to November 20.
While that of Osun will take place between November and December .
They also approved four committees, namely Constitution Review Committee; policy advocacy; membership registration; party rebranding committees.
Addressing party members earlier, Mark, who stressed the need to build a party that outlives its current leaders, said the ADC will revolve around rules, policies, programmes, people, and results, not around individuals like some other parties.
He noted that the party’s mission is not only to attain power in 2027 but to leave a legacy which the future generations will be proud to inherit.
“We are in a marathon we must complete-and win. Failure is not an option,” he said.
He said, “We have set aside narrow interests for the common good. The road will be uphill. Sacrifice will be demanded. Those threatened by democracy will resist it. Still, we advance-calmly, courageously, together as a formidable team.”
Mark stated that ADC is different because it will be a party of purpose and determination, not impulses, an institution that champions democratic values and a culture of accountability and responsibility across its organs and in every government it forms.
“Our leadership standard is non-negotiable: Character. Competence. Courage. Discipline. These four pillars will guide our choices, shape our culture, and anchor our performance.
“We are a Pan-African, people-oriented, problem-solving movement-sensitive to the needs of the poor and the young, women and men, persons with disabilities, workers, peasants, entrepreneurs, retirees, civil society, and the vulnerable. We will convert empathy into policy, and policy inte results.
“To do this, we will build a party that outlives us all. Other parties revolve around individuals; the ADC will revolve around rules, policies, programmes, people, and results. We will insist on team spirit, collaboration, and internal democracy. The supremacy we seek is the supremacy of our constitution and institutions-over everything: personality, improvisation, and idiosyncrasy.
“Our mission is not only to attain power in 2027; it is to leave a legacy which the future generations will be proud to inherit. We are in a marathon we must complete-and win. Failure is not an option.
“From today, we must adopt an Integrity and Performance Compact. First, open party, open books: independent annual audits published; procurement rules enforced; well articulated conflict-of-interest and gift policies.
“Second, merit before loyalty: all appointments-party and government-benchmarked to the pillar standard of Character, Competence, Courage, and Discipline, in integrity
“Third, clean elections, clean governance: digital, verifiable membership and primaries; candidate rigorous screening before nomination; performance scorecards published quarterly.
“Fourth, citizens first: service charters in every ADC-led government with timelines, public dashboards, and real feedback mechanisms.
“Fifth, dignity and inclusion: standing councils for special interest group such as workers, women, youth, farmers, professionals, retired security officers, educators, persons with disabilities, retirees, civil society, and the vulnerable-represented at the table not as tokens, but as architects of policies and programmes.”
The former Senate president said he is alarmed by the subtle and crude attempts to bend the legislature and judiciary to the will of the executive.
He said the ADC will defend the separation of powers, restore legislative and judicial independence, and strengthen oversight so that budgets serve the public interest, not private appetites.
“We will end the culture of parallel budgets and extra-budgetary maneuvers by enforcing strict and transparent planning, timely appropriations, and rigorous auditing.
“The judiciary must again be a refuge for every citizen. We will back an independent, efficient, and trusted bench-appointments on merit, transparent case management, time-bound rulings, and a bias for justice over empty technicalities.”
He added that Nigerians are tired of slogans and statistics that do not translate into their welfare: food, power, jobs, and safety.
“We will focus on what works. We will pursue price stability and productivity through credible, rules-based coordination of fiscal and monetary policy. We will deliver reliable power supply by expanding power generation, fixing transmission bottlenecks, and rewarding distribution performance.
“We will secure our food supply by supporting farmers and agricultural value chains from inputs and storage to processing and markets. We will back small businesses and industry with affordable, performance-tied credit and local content that creates jobs, not rent. And we will shine a bright light on every naira-no parallel budgets, no black-box spending, no sacred cows. Judge us by what Nigerians feel in their daily lives, rhetorics and bland statistics: lower volatility, more reliable power, visible projects, and decent work.”
He said the party’s foreign policy will be Pan-African-rooted in regional integration and international peace.
He assured that the party will champion trade within Africa, harmonize standards that open markets for Nigerian goods and services, leverage diaspora capital, and build coalitions that keep the sub-region stable and prosperous.
“This National Working Committee has urgent tasks. We must review our constitution to reflect the new order, develop a code of ethics, financing rules, and compliance systems. We must establish functional ward, local government, and state structures with trained organizers, digital registers, and service desks. We will build a leadership pipeline through a merit-based academy-policy, ethics, communications, and delivery. We will receive reports from the Secretariat and zones and prepare for regular and off-cycle elections well in advance. And we will field only credible and viable candidates who meet the 4-pillar standard-Character, Competence, Courage, and Discipline.
He added that Nigeria and Nigerians-will accept nothing less, noting that the political class has too often served itself.
“We must change this outdated pattern. We must model a new attitude to leadership across every sphere-public, private, and civic. Let it be said of the ADC that we kept faith with the people, that we were steady under pressure, honest in our dealings, and relentless in delivery. We do not seek power for its own sake; we seek it to build a legacy worthy of our children,” he said.
