Major opposition figures including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, NNPP leader Rabiu Kwankwaso, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, former Rivers State Governor and Minister Rotimi Amaechi, and former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal have joined forces to lead a protest against the Independent National Electoral Commission over its decision to suspend recognition of Senator David Mark as the national chairman of the African Democratic Congress.
The protest centres on INEC’s handling of an ongoing court dispute over the party’s leadership, a decision the opposition leaders have framed as part of a broader attempt by the ruling All Progressives Congress to weaken opposition alternatives and consolidate power ahead of the 2027 general elections.
INEC’s suspension of recognition for the Mark-led faction of the ADC pending resolution of the court case is procedurally defensible under the commission’s mandate to avoid recognising party executives whose legitimacy is under legal challenge.
But the timing and the political context have given the decision a significance that goes beyond administrative neutrality. The ADC, while not one of Nigeria’s largest parties, has become a rallying point for opposition figures seeking alternatives to the PDP and APC, and any action that appears to destabilise or delegitimise the party is being interpreted as interference designed to benefit the ruling party.
The coalition of protesters is notable not for their loyalty to the ADC, most of them have never been members, but for the signal it sends about opposition coordination and the willingness of figures from different parties and political backgrounds to align against what they see as institutional overreach. Atiku, Obi, and Kwankwaso were rivals in the 2023 presidential election, representing the PDP, Labour Party, and NNPP respectively. The fact that they are now standing together in defence of a party chairman they have no formal connection to suggests that the opposition is attempting to build a united front, however fragile, around the principle that INEC should not be used as a tool to weaken parties that challenge the APC.
The claim that the decision is part of an APC plot to enforce a one-party state is a serious accusation that resonates with voters who already distrust INEC’s independence. The commission is constitutionally mandated to be impartial, but its leadership is appointed by the president, a structural reality that makes claims of bias difficult to dismiss outright. Whether or not the ADC leadership suspension was politically motivated, the perception that it was is enough to mobilise opposition figures and their supporters, and perception in Nigerian politics often matters more than fact….See More
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