Stakeholders of the African Democratic Congress have described the party’s leadership under former Senate President David Mark as “weak” and incapable of resisting external influence.
In a statement signed by coordinator Justin Ahamefula and issued in Kaduna, the group also accused former vice president Atiku Abubakar of dictating the pace of the National Working Committee.
“The ADC, as it stands today, is not ready for the 2027 general elections because of the crisis and unresolved issues surrounding its candidates and leadership,” the stakeholders said.
They cited unresolved governorship disputes in Adamawa, Sokoto, Imo, Kano and Borno states, along with legal battles involving the Independent National Electoral Commission, the party and some of its candidates.
The group alleged that Atiku had pressed Mark to replace Adamawa governorship candidate Omar Suleiman with Tukur Modibo, who finished second in the primary.
“Atiku has no justified reason to replace the party’s candidate in Adamawa State with a candidate who came second in the primary,” they stated.
They further expressed concern over “the alleged use of religious and tribal sentiments in the running of the ADC and the alleged imposition of candidates on what we consider to be a weak party leadership.”
The stakeholders described the prevailing atmosphere as “an attitude of thugs in the motor parks, where orderliness is reduced to the background.”
They called on INEC to reject any substitution that fails to comply with the law and the party’s internal processes, warning that an unjustified change could cost the ADC the 2027 governorship election in Adamawa.
In a related Facebook post, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal also criticised the alleged substitution, attributing it to ethnic considerations linked to Atiku’s influence.
The stakeholders urged the party leadership to demonstrate independence, fairness and respect for internal democratic processes if the ADC is to build credibility ahead of the 2027 elections.
