The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says its prolonged leadership crisis and multiple court cases have slowed its efforts to campaign and build party structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC had spent more time in court than on the campaign trail since emerging as a coalition opposition platform in 2025.
Abdullahi made the remarks during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday, describing the legal challenges as major obstacles to the party’s political activities.
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“The party since the start has been burdened by this avalanche of court cases, to the extent that I like to say that we spent more time in courts than we spent on the campaign ground or trying to build our party structure,” he said.
Despite the challenges, he said the party had made significant progress and developed into a formidable opposition platform.
He argued that the ADC’s growing political relevance showed how far it had come since the coalition was formed in 2025.
Abdullahi accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of attempting to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections, alleging that the legal disputes were part of a broader political strategy.
“We said it at the start that the idea is to discourage opposition and create a situation whereby in 2027, only President Bola Tinubu will be a viable candidate on the ballot,” he said.
The APC and the Presidency have, however, denied responsibility for the ADC’s legal crisis.
The ADC spokesman maintained that the coalition had followed the required procedures before joining the party, questioning why its leadership continued to face legal challenges.
He also criticised some judicial decisions, alleging that the dispute was politically motivated rather than strictly a legal matter.
The crisis centres on the party’s leadership following the resignation of its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, and the emergence of a caretaker leadership led by former Senate President David Mark in July 2025.
A faction led by Nafiu Bala challenged the process, arguing that he was entitled to take over the party’s leadership after Nwosu’s departure.
On November 5, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, ruled in Bala’s favour, declaring the emergence of the Mark-led caretaker committee illegal and nullifying its actions. The ruling also affected the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as
the party’s 2027 presidential candidate.
The ADC rejected the judgment and appealed the decision, insisting that the legal dispute would not halt its political activities.
Atiku described the ruling as an attempt to weaken his political support in the North and frustrate his presidential ambition.
However, the party’s lawyer, Kalu Kalu, argued that the judgment did not expressly nullify Atiku’s nomination or those of other candidates produced under the Mark-led leadership.
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