The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the APC-led Federal Government of attempting to destabilise the party following Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s defection, alleging undue pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN).
In a statement issued on March 31, 2026, and signed by ADC National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party claimed a March 28 letter from a group of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, supposedly representing an expelled party member, is being used to push INEC to invalidate party actions and alter its leadership structure before the courts rule.
“The decision of Senator Kwankwaso to join our party has understandably sent jitters through the ruling party,” the statement read, accusing federal officials of launching a renewed campaign to undermine ADC’s leadership and discourage other high-profile defections.
The party specifically referenced Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, stating he was never chairman of ADC and had resigned from his position along with other National Working Committee members before being expelled. ADC argued that any attempt to reinstate him as leader is “fictitious” and part of a broader effort to weaken the party ahead of elections.
The statement further criticized the letter to INEC for threatening the agency’s chairman with arrest if demands were not met within seven days, calling it a convergence of “legal pressure and political intent” by the ruling party.
ADC called on INEC to uphold its constitutional mandate as an impartial umpire and warned that no pressure or legal manipulation would halt the growth of a credible opposition in Nigeria.
“No amount of pressure, no manufactured confusion, and no distortion of legal processes will stop what is already in motion. The ADC is growing. Nigerians are joining. A credible opposition is taking shape,” the statement concluded.