ABUJA, Nigeria — The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has formally recognised the new national leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), publishing the names of its national working committee on its official website.
The list confirms former Senate President David Mark as the party’s national chairman, with former Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola as secretary and former Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi as spokesperson.
The development cements the ADC’s role as the adopted coalition platform for a broad alliance of opposition politicians ahead of the 2027 general election.
Those aligned with the coalition include former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Uche Secondus, former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna; Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate; Rotimi Amaechi, former minister of transportation; and Odigie Oyegun, former chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In July, Ralph Nwosu, founder of the ADC, announced the resignation of the party’s then–national working committee and endorsed the new leadership under Mark.
By late July, the party formally requested INEC recognition of the interim team.
Not all members of the ADC, however, support the coalition takeover.
Nafiu Bala, a former governorship candidate in Gombe, declared himself the party’s chairman, while a group of state chairmen described the coalition as a “hijack” and urged the politicians involved to register a new party.
