Democracy
By Aminu Garko
Sen.David Mark, ADC Chairman, has accused INEC of taking sides and undermining Nigeria’s democracy.
He said INEC’s withdrawal of recognition for ADC leadership is unlawful and an attempt to impose a one-party state.
Mark stated that Nafiu Bala resigned as ADC Deputy Chairman and has no claim to leadership.
He urged Nigerians to defend democracy and resist the APC government’s attempts to silence opposition.
The ADC plans to proceed with party programmes, despite INEC’s actions.
Mark called for Prof. Amupitan’s resignation, citing loss of confidence in INEC’s impartiality.
The ADC coalition formed to resist APC’s assault on opposition parties and save Nigeria’s democracy.
The party fulfilled constitutional requirements, and a NEC meeting on July 29, 2025, dissolved the NWC and appointed a caretaker committee with David Mark as Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as Secretary.
INEC uploaded the new leadership’s names on September 9, 2025, but Nafiu Bala, a former Deputy Chairman who resigned on May 17, 2025, approached the court claiming chairmanship.
The Court of Appeal ordered parties to maintain status quo, but INEC withdrew recognition for ADC leadership, citing a “false equivalence” between Mark’s and Bala’s factions, despite Bala’s resignation.
What is now unfolding is a concerted effort to dismantle that last bulwark. If we allow this to happen, it could signal the end of our democracy as we know it. If we yield to it, we would have become complicit by our inaction. We therefore hold it a duty to our democracy and the Nigerian people to say “no”.
Right now, I speak to Nigerians at home and in diaspora.
I also speak directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: with 90% of the National Assembly and over 30 of Nigeria’s 36 Governors in the APC, President Tinubu, what are you afraid of?
” If you are convinced that you have done well for the people who voted for you, why are you afraid of a free, fair, and transparent electoral contest?
” If you are indeed the democrat that you claim to be, why are you bent on destroying all opposition political parties?
Let me reiterate for the record; there are no competing claims on the leadership of the ADC. Nafiu Bala has no locus whatsoever.
“INEC should have waited for the Court of Appeal to decide this matter. Instead, INEC went ahead to do the bidding of the ruling party. But let us be clear: the role of INEC over political parties is not administrative: it is not managerial: It is simply supervisory.
For the avoidance of doubt, the leadership of ADC inaugurated at the 29th July 2025, NEC meeting remains the lawful leaders of the party. Party members and all Nigerians should therefore remain calm as there is no cause for alarm whatsoever.
It is important to state the net implications of this decision taken by INEC, in case they had not thought of it, or they just do not care:
First, by attempting to subvert the leadership of the ADC, INEC has already undermined our participation in the Osun and Ekiti elections taking place later this year.
Secondly, we have our congresses starting on the 9th of April, 2026, ending with our convention on the 14th April, 2026. We have given due notice to INEC, and they have acknowledged receipt of that notice. This is what the law requires of us.
Let us sound a note of warning. This INEC under Professor Joash Amupitan will be held directly responsible for whatever actions or reactions that follow this criminal path that it has chosen to take.
Our demand is therefore clear:
We demand the immediate resignation or sack of the INEC Chairman, Professor Amupitan, and all the National Commissioners.
“We no longer have confidence in them. We are convinced that they are incapable of conducting any credible election.
Let us also make it clear: we are proceeding with our party programmes, because there is nothing under the law that makes INEC’s attendance, a mandatory requirement.
“We have duly served INEC notice, and we will proceed accordingly.
We also call on the international community to take note of INEC’s actions of April 1st, and of the restraint we are exercising today.
” We urge them to recognise the clear threat to Nigeria’s democracy and stability, and to hold accountable those who are undermining the integrity of the electoral process.
“We call on Nigerians to defend our democracy. This is a defining moment. Stand firm. Speak out. Participate. Resist any attempt to impose a one-party state on Nigeria. Nigeria belongs to all of us, and together, we must protect it.
It is often said, that the arc of history does not bend towards tyranny. It bends towards freedom.
And no matter how long the night may seem, the morning will come.
Nigeria will not be silenced. Nigeria will not be conquered.
Nigeria is rising, ADC is rising.
