*Five Others, Including Ex-Reps Speaker, Also Affected
By Sam Tyav, Makurdi
From his home front, bad news has arrived for interim National Chairman of main opposition coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, as the Benue State chapter of the party has declared him a non-member of ADC. He hails from the state.
Mark, a former Senate President, is not alone in this fresh threat to his sojourn in the party, which is already struggling with electoral umpire Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the de-recognizing of the his leadership of the party’s national body, as the state branch also utilized a broom to ostensibly sweep away other top shots.
Affected are Senator Orker Jev; former House of Representatives pro tem Speaker, Rt. Hon. Terngu Tsegba; Hon. Herman Hembe; Alex Adum and Samson Okwu.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) House, Makurdi, the state capital, State Chairman of the party, Elias Adikwu disclosed that Senator Mark and the others did not follow due process to become members of the party.
Recall that Mark is presently embroiled in court battles with factional National Chairman of the party, Nafiu Gombe, over control of the soul of the party.
The ADC State Chairman insisted that since Senator Mark and the others allegedly took what he described as an illegitimate route into ADC, the party does not regard them as members.
Adikwu explained that an earlier decision of the state leadership of the party to suspend them was incorrect as, according to him, they were not members of the party and there was no point suspending non-members.
Speaking further, Adikwu explained that the “State Executive Council of ADC affirm that the emergence of the ADC caretaker committee led by by Senator David Mark was not only flawed but also violated Section 82 (1) of the Electoral Act 2026 which provides mandatory 21 days’ notice to INEC before the meeting that gave birth to the caretaker committee.”
The ADC State Chairman also frowned at the raising of adhoc committees by Sen. Mark, saying it violated party constitutional provision as contained in Article 14 (19).
Adikwu declared the Membership Registration, Mobilisation and Revalidation (MRMR) and leadership teams at the State, Local Government, Ward and Polling Unit levels established by the Mark-led National Working Committee illegal, null and void even as, he noted,that the action amounted to breach of the constitution.
Looking deeper, he blamed the ADC crisis on the party’s founder, Chief Ralph Okey-Nwosu who, he said, spent 17 years as National Chairman “and refused to step down for another person but instead reappointed himself and the likes of Nafiu Gombe as members of the NWC of the ADC which eventually led to leadership collapse.”
The ADC Chairman, however, assured that the crisis in the party would soon be over, expressing optimism that ADC would not only produce a presidential candidate for 2027 general elections, but definitely defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and others at the polls.
*PHOTO CAPTION: The State ADC Chairman, Adikwu (with mic), speaking during the press conference.
