ADC Alleges Pressure on INEC After Kwankwaso Joins Party
Last update: March 31, 2026
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Kwankwaso’s defection: ADC accuses APC government of plot to destabilise party...
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the APC-led Federal Government of attempting to destabilise the party following the defection of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
The party alleged that pressure is being mounted on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), to interfere in its leadership structure.
In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said a letter dated March 28, 2026, written by a team of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, is being used to push INEC to invalidate certain party actions.
According to the statement, the lawyers claim to represent an expelled member of the party and are urging INEC to alter the party’s leadership arrangement before the court reaches a final decision on the matter.
The ADC described the move as part of a broader plan to destabilise what it called the only viable opposition party left in the country.
The party said the decision of Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to join the ADC had unsettled the ruling party and triggered renewed political pressure.
“The decision of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to join our party has understandably sent jitters through the ruling party,” the statement read.
“Since then, top officials within the Federal Government have renewed their onslaught against our party in a bid to discourage other high-profile figures.”
ADC also dismissed the claim by Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, who is reportedly challenging the party’s leadership.
According to the party, Gombe was never the chairman of the ADC and had earlier resigned alongside other members of the National Working Committee before he was expelled.
The party therefore described any attempt to restore him as chairman under the guise of maintaining the “status quo ante bellum” as baseless.
“Any attempt to recreate a ‘status quo’ that upgrades his position to National Chairman of the ADC at any point in time is, at best, fictitious,” the statement said.
The party called on INEC to remain guided by the Constitution and resist what it described as attempts to pressure the electoral body.
“We call on INEC to remain guided by the Constitution, resist all forms of pressure, and uphold its duty as an impartial umpire,” the statement added.
ADC also insisted that the issue goes beyond party politics, describing it as a matter that concerns the right of Nigerians to freely choose political alternatives.
The party said: “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.”
