Abdullahi: There’s Broader Conspiracy to Weaken Opposition Ahead of 2027 Poll

National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in this interview speaks on the party’s national leadership challenges including the interference of the Independent National Electoral Commission in its internal affairs. Chuks Okocha brings excerpts.

How do you mean that INEC lacks Powers to Remove Party Leadership, is INEC not the regulatory body?

We in the ADC challenge INEC’s authority over party leadership matters, whatever actions INEC is taking now is unconstitutional and inconsistent with established legal precedents. We maintain that political parties operate as voluntary associations whose internal affairs cannot be dictated by external bodies, we dare say  that INEC’s role is limited to supervision.

INEC does not have the power to remove leadership of a political party. Fundamentally, a political party is a voluntary association, and if you are not a member of our family, you cannot come and remove the head of that family.

The role of INEC is supervisory, not administrative, not to control political parties and decide how they run their affairs. What they have done goes completely against established legal principles and the very foundation of democratic practice in Nigeria.

On court ruling and status quo interpretation. How do you react?

The  Court of Appeal ruling at the centre of the dispute, to maintain “status quo ante bellum” had been misinterpreted by INEC.

The ruling referred to maintaining the condition of the party before the conflict initiated by Nafiu Bala, a period during which the leadership under David Mark was already in place and recognised.

The Court of Appeal ruling was very clear when it said maintain status quo ante bellum, which simply means return to the situation before the conflict started. Now, before Bala went to court, Mark was already the duly recognised chairman of the party following the NEC meeting of July 29, 2025 which INEC monitored and acknowledged.

So how does maintaining status quo suddenly translate into removing an existing leadership and leaving the party without direction? That interpretation is not only fraudulent, it is dishonest and completely self-serving.

What’s your take on Nafiu Bala’s position that he didn’t resign?

Bala’s claim is baseless, he was never chairman of the ADC, there were several deputy national chairmen. At what point was Bala ever the chairman of ADC? That answer is clearly no. He was one of the deputy national chairmen, one among six, and there was a resolution taken on July 25, 2025 that all members of the executive should resign, which he duly did. If he is now claiming that his signature was forged, that is a criminal offence. Has he reported to the police? Is there any official complaint anywhere? There is none, and that tells you everything you need to know about the credibility of that claim.

On his allegations of Forgery Claims and Linguistic Evidence

We challenge him to provide evidence of any formal complaint to law enforcement authorities that his signature or any documents was forged. Forgery is a criminal offence that requires official reporting and investigation, which he Bala had failed to initiate.

There is ample evidence available that shows he resigned, and beyond that, we even looked at his linguistic fingerprint. He has a peculiar way of writing certain words, and everything aligns with what we have on record, including the resignation letter.

But even if, for the sake of argument, we accept that his signature was forged, the next NEC meeting dissolved the entire executive and brought in a caretaker committee led by Mark. INEC was present, they monitored it, and they documented it.

So this argument does not stand on any serious legal or factual ground.

Who are the people giving these warnings?

Some of those who claim that there were warnings were Leke Abejide who had publicly declared support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of 2027 and was expelled for anti-party activities. Dumebi Kachikwu had also been expelled before we even came on board.

So, how do individuals who are no longer part of the party suddenly become authoritative voices on its internal affairs? These are distractions, and we know exactly who is pushing them and for what purpose,

How do you defend allegations of political interference?

There is a broader political conspiracy to weaken opposition parties, aiming to leave only one viable candidate ahead of the 2027 elections. All these things you are seeing are meant to achieve a particular end, which is to ensure that by 2027 there will be only one candidate on the ballot.

That is the direction things are going if Nigerians do not pay attention.

You can see what is happening across parties, how structures are being destabilised and weakened systematically. This is not accidental; it is coordinated, and it is dangerous for the future of democracy in Nigeria,

Is ADC following up this legal battle as it moves to Court of Appeal?

The ADC approached the Court of Appeal despite the matter still being before the Federal High Court, citing Supreme Court rulings limiting jurisdiction over internal party affairs.

The reason for going to the Court of Appeal was to establish that the Federal High Court does not have the locus to entertain this matter at all. The Supreme Court has already ruled clearly that issues relating to the internal affairs of political parties are not justiciable. So it is not about rushing; it is about ensuring that the law is properly interpreted and applied. The Court of Appeal itself acknowledged this and asked that the status quo be maintained while the matter is resolved,

Is ADC  proceeding with the convention as planned?

The ADC would proceed with its planned national convention, having complied fully with the law and notified INEC within the stipulated timeframe. We have complied fully with the law by giving INEC the required 21 days’ notice, and they acknowledged it.

The Electoral Act clearly states that INEC may attend, not that it must attend, especially for internal administrative processes like electing party officers. There is absolutely nothing unlawful about proceeding with our convention, and we will not allow illegal directives to derail our activities. Doing so would mean we are complicit in undermining democracy, and we will not accept that,

Nigerians deserve democracy and we understand their expectations. What’s your take on this?

Democracy thrives when there is a strong and credible opposition, and that is what we are working towards. We will continue to engage, to organise, and to ensure that the voices of Nigerians are not silenced. This is bigger than ADC; it is about the future of democratic participation in this country.

How do you think that excluding the ADC will affect democracy?

The crisis is seen as a defining moment for Nigeria’s democracy, voicing confidence in courts and the judiciary. What is at stake here is not just the ADC; it is Nigeria’s democracy itself. We believe in the courts, and we believe that there are still judges who understand their duty to this country.

We will pursue this matter to its logical conclusion because we know we are on solid legal ground. We are not intimidated, we are not discouraged, and we will continue to participate fully in the democratic process regardless of the challenges before us.

We criticise government’s handling of national crises and the suppression of opposition parties. Did you see the killings in Benue? Did you see the killings in Kaduna yesterday? People are celebrating Easter, and our president went to Jos and stopped at the airport and was blaming them for not having electricity, and they had only 10 minutes to spend with them at the airport, and he left for Abeokuta to go and enjoy himself.

Is that the kind of thing we want to continue? We know they don’t have anything to present to Nigerians. We know Nigerians have rejected them, and that is why they are doing all this. Why would they destroy PDP, destroy Labour Party, destroy SDP, destroy NNPP? Now they see that ADC, the only last hope of common man in Nigeria, is rising. Now they want to truncate it. But it will not happen. Nigeria is bigger than any individual, no matter how powerful he thinks he is.