ADC State Chairmen Reject David Mark, Atiku, Aregbesola, Other Coalition Leaders

ChuksOkocha in Abuja

Crisis appears to be brewing within the coalition party as a group, an umbrella body of state chairmen of the party, Concerned State Chairmen of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has rejected the new national leadership of the party led by former Senate President David Mark.

In a statement, titled, “Rejecting the Political Junta by Defending ADC and Nigeria’s Democracy Against Subversion,” signed by the chairman, Amb. Elias Adokwu, and the publicity secretary, Godwin Alaku, the chairmen described the recent takeover of the party by the opposition coalition as an “orchestrated political coup”.

The ADC state chairmen further condemned what they described as the hijack of the party by the coalition, which included former Vice President AtikuAbubakar, who had already resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to join ADC.

In the statement released yesterday, the chairmen said the emergence of Mark and others as the leaders of ADC was a “blatant and reckless subversion” of the party’s constitution and Nigeria’s democratic norms.

They accused the coalition of attempting an unconstitutional hijack of ADC through manipulation and backdoor dealings.

“We unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms this desperate power grab, which represents not only an aberration of democratic norms but also a grave assault on our collective political values as a nation,” the statement said.

The chairmen stated that the move was not a realignment of political ideology – as stated by the coalition – but a “civilian junta” seeking control outside legal and democratic processes.

Rejecting the Mark-led leadership, they said, “If peaceful change is not possible, violent change is inevitable.

“It is only by the grace of God that our democracy survived then, and we must not allow such reckless adventurism to thrive now.”

According to the ADC state chairmen, the takeover was an “insult to all those who believe in and have laboured for democratic governance in Nigeria.”