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•Benue ADC rejects Mark-led NWC, raises alarm over leadership crisis
From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja and Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Frontline opposition figure and former two-term vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has declared that the 2027 presidential election would be his final outing.
He also said he will withdraw from the contest if the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is able to settle for a consensus candidate and he is not the preferred choice.
Atiku, who stated this, yesterday, in an interview with Arise Television, said the first option for the ADC is to explore the possibility of a consensus presidential candidate.
He assured that he would support anyone, including his former running mate in the 2019 polls, Peter Obi, if the latter emerges as consensus candidate
However, the former two-term VP stated if that the consensus option does not work, the party will go for a direct primary.
“It’s not the issue of stepping aside, but I will support. In the coalition our first option will be to work out a consensus. But if that doesn’t emerge, of course we will go for direct primary. I will support anybody who emerges.
That is the first option as far as the party is concerned. We will aim at consensus. If we don’t get it, then we will go for elections. We have all agreed that this is the way to save democracy in this country.
“If people of my generation don’t get it ( presidential ticket), the people who may get it next may be the next generation. I mean, clearly you can see a generational structure there. And it’s deliberate.”
Responding to a question on whether he will be willing to accept Obi as a consensus candidate said “Of course, if he is a contender, why not?”
Key opposition politicians including Atiku, Obi, former Rivers governor, Rotimi Amaechi, among others unveiled the ADC last July , as the “opposition coalition party “ for the 2027 contest.
Atiku has been aspiring to lead the country since 1993. He was the candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in the 2007 presidential poll, as well as the standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 and 2023 presidential contest.
Meanwhile, the crisis in the ADC is still festering as the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the party in Benue State has reaffirmed its commitment to the supremacy of the party’s constitution, while condemning what it described as illegal actions that have deepened the ongoing leadership crisis within the party.
Briefing newsmen in Makurdi yesterday, the Chairman, Elias Adikwu, said the Benue SEC has rejected the emergence of a caretaker committee led by David Mark, describing the process that produced it as flawed and contrary to the provisions of Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.
The Chairman said Benue SEC remains guided by the provisions of Articles 2 and 7 of the party’s constitution, which mandate democratic, transparent and inclusive processes in all party affairs.
According to the committee, the constitution governs all aspects of the party’s operations and ensures that members participate meaningfully and effectively in decision-making.
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The committee accused the party’s founder and former national chairman, Ralph Okey Nwosu, of carrying out several illegal actions before and during the transition process in the party noting that Nwosu’s tenure as national chairman expired in August 2022 but alleged that he refused to step down after a 17-year reign.
They stated that the refusal triggered a series of litigations, culminating in a December 2022 ruling by Justice Binta Nyako which reportedly affirmed that Nwosu’s tenure had ended and that any action taken afterward by him and his National Working Committee was null and void.
“One of the disputed actions was the convening of a mini convention in Zaria, Kaduna State, in October 2022 where Nwosu allegedly reappointed himself and others, including Nafiu Gombe, into the National Working Committee. The Benue SEC said the outcome of the convention was rejected by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),” he said.
The committee also faulted what it described as Nwosu’s unilateral suspension of state chairmen who opposed his actions and accused him of engaging in transactions involving the party with coalition leaders without the knowledge of State Executive Committees across the country. It said these actions contributed significantly to the present leadership crisis in the party.
The Benue SEC which also rejected the emergence of the Mark-led caretaker committee said their emergence was contrary to the provisions of Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.
He said the section requires that a mandatory 21-day notice be given to INEC before any meeting that produces such leadership structures saying the meeting that resulted in the caretaker committee failed to meet the legal requirement as proper notice was not given to INEC.
He further argued that the subsequent National Executive Committee meeting held on July 29, 2025, which ratified the decisions of the National Working Committee, did not constitute the original appointment of the caretaker committee and therefore could not validate the process.
The Benue leadership also criticized the caretaker committee for establishing what it called unlawful ad-hoc structures, including the Membership Registration, Mobilization and Revalidation (MRMR) and Leadership Teams at state, ward and polling unit levels.
Adikwu argued that the committees were constituted in violation of Article 14 of the party’s constitution, which empowers only the executive committees at various levels to set up such bodies.
The SEC further alleged that many members of the committees were not card-carrying members of the party and had not fulfilled membership requirements as stipulated in Article 8 of the constitution. They therefore declared the MRMR and Leadership Teams illegal, unconstitutional and without authority to register or revalidate members or administer the affairs of the party.
Adikwu said the Benue SEC has affirmed the suspension of several members of the party, including Emmanuel Orker-Jev, Terngu Tsegba, Samson Okwu, Herman Hembe and Alex Ter Adum, for alleged violations of the party’s constitution.
He said the state leadership of the party under his chairmanship will continue upholding the constitution and internal democratic processes of the ADC in Benue State.
Meanwhile, the ADC faction chairman elect, Samson Okwu, in his reaction has stated that the Adikwu led-leadership in the State was suspended and communicated to the national secretariat of the party before the coalition party was formed.
Okwu, who spoke to newsmen on phone, insisted that Adikwu in person was suspended by the deputy chairman of ADC in the State, Mr. Orbunde after he (Adikwu) was removed as chairman long before they all came to join the party.
“I have been elected as the new State chairman of ADC in Benue State. I am waiting to take over office on April 22, 2026. This man claiming to be chairman of ADC in Benue State has been expelled from the party and so, he has no constitutional powers to suspend any of us,” he said.
