Ahead of the David Mark-led ADC’s insistence to proceed with the national congress slated for the 14th of April, the situations at the state level raises serious concern. As the date for the national congress draws closer, the congresses at the state are stalled amid court cases over the ownership of the party.
Recall that ENigeria Newspaper has reported that Bolaji Abdullah, spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said the party’s leadership had concluded that its National Convention will hold on April 14, 2026, despite a deepening leadership crisis and the withdrawal of recognition by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The election body had asked the party to hold on with the planned congress and return the party to a status quo until all court cases are resolved. In the process, INEC delisted and derecognized the leadership of David Mark.
However, the congresses at the state level, as they have to be held before the national convention, are not panning out as planned. States such as Adamawa, Niger, Ondo, Kaduna, Zamfara, Osun and Oyo are all uncertain of the fates of their congresses.
In Adamawa, Shehu Yohanna, the state’s troubled ADC chairman, has petitioned the court to halt the congresses because he was allegedly left out of the proceedings.
The lawsuit’s presiding judge, Justice Ahmed Isa, issued an order suspending the congresses scheduled for Thursday until the dispute was resolved. In order to continue the hearing, the court later postponed the case to April 15, 2026.
In Kaduna on Wednesday, different groups released divergent opinions over the behavior of the party’s ward, local government, and state congresses, intensifying the crisis plaguing the party’s Kaduna State chapter.
One group said that the exercise would be postponed until May, while another rejected the decision as unlawful and insisted that it would not be accepted since it lacked constitutional support. A committee headed by State Organizing Secretary Adamu Bello claimed in a statement dated April 6, 2026, that the congresses that were supposed to start on April 7 had been rescheduled due to an increase in party defections.
Another factional group, however, disapproved of the announcement, calling it deceptive and unapproved.
In Oyo, the state publicity secretary, Bimbo Adelowo, stated the state does not have choice but to stall the congress in respect to INEC’s directive on the national convention.
“First, I would like to say this: INEC might be wrong in its decision to derecognise the interim NWC of ADC, but the fact that INEC, as a regulatory body, is empowered under law to set rules, whether the rules are just or not, is another case entirely.
“Since INEC has made a pronouncement, definitely everyone should abide by it until otherwise is pronounced by a court of competent jurisdiction”, she said,
Elsewhere in Osun, Charles Omidiji, the state chairman of the ADC in Osun, has declared that its members will not attend the party’s upcoming state congress. However, he claimed that the Omoluabi Progressives, a branch of the state party, intended to host the congress.
In response, Seun Abosede, the Osun ADC’s Director of Media, countered that Omidiji was no longer the Osun party’s chairman and was therefore unfit to represent the party.
“He can’t speak for Osun ADC. He has joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress. He has been listed on the website of the party as Osun’s protem chairman. Omidiji is no longer in Osun ADC.
“We are proceeding with the congress. On Saturday, we will have our state congress, and thereafter, we will proceed to the national convention. You can check the website of the NDC, Omidiji is listed on its website as Osun protem chairman”, said Abosede.
In Niger State, the state chairman of the ADC confirmed that a new date will be announced after ongoing consultations. He stressed that the planned congresses for all 25 local government districts in Niger State have been postponed till further notice by the ADC, noting that the decision was made to protect judicial authority, due process, and the rule of law.
In the midst of all of these, the David Mark-led NWC, which INEC fired, has petitioned the Federal High Court in Abuja for orders compelling the electoral body to overturn its decision to remove the party’s top executives from its records.
