Kwankwaso: FG mounting pressure on INEC to destabilize us- ADC
By Ndukaku Ihe
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), has accused the federal government of allegedly mounting pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to interfere with its leadership, following the defection of former Kano governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso to the opposition party.
The ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, Tuesday, said a March 28 letter by some Senior Advocates, “purportedly representing an expelled member of the party,” is being used to push the electoral body invalidate its actions and alter its structure before the Court decides on the issue.
The opposition party, which alleged that this is part of a grand plan to destabilise the only viable opposition party left in the country , vowed to deploy every constitutional means to resist it.
The statement read: “the ADC has observed a coordinated attempt to pressure the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN), to destabilise the David Mark-led leadership of the party.
“The decision of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso to join our party has understandably sent jitters through the ruling party. Since then, top officials within the Federal Government have renewed their onslaught against our party, in a bid to discourage other high-profile figures.
“This conspiracy is centred on a legal dispute that is now being pushed beyond the courtroom. In a letter dated March 28, 2026, a team of Senior Advocates of Nigeria is asking INEC to enforce a curious and peculiar interpretation of a Court of Appeal ruling regarding what constitutes ‘status quo ante bellum.’
“In the said letter, the writers even went ahead to threaten the INEC chairman with arrest if he does not grant their request within seven days. They want INEC to invalidate party meetings, remove recognised officials, and hand over the affairs of the party to a specific individual, even though the case itself has not been fully decided by the courts. Obviously, what the authors of this vexatious letter are attempting to do is to pressure INEC to take sides and grant them what no court in Nigeria has granted.”
It added that “for the avoidance of doubt, Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, who is claiming to be aggrieved over the ADC leadership, was never the Chairman of the ADC. And, perhaps more significantly, Nafiu Gombe had earlier resigned his position alongside other members of the National Working Committee. He has also since been expelled from the party. Therefore, 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.
“What we are witnessing is a convergence of legal pressure and political intent by a ruling party that is unsettled by the growing appeal of the ADC. But Nigerians can see what is happening.
“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.
“We call on INEC to remain guided by the Constitution, resist all forms of pressure, and uphold its duty as an impartial umpire. This is bigger than the ADC. It is about whether Nigerians can freely choose a different path. And that must not be compromised.”
