The leadership crisis rocking African Democratic Congress deepened on Friday as state chairmen of the party moved to take over its national leadership, following the decision of Independent National Electoral Commission to remove the Senator David Mark-led National Working Committee from its official records.

Chairman of ADC state chairmen and Kogi State party chairman, Temitope Ogga, disclosed that the National Executive Committee, made up of state chairmen, will meet on Tuesday to constitute a caretaker committee that will oversee the affairs of the party pending the resolution of the legal dispute over its leadership.

According to him, the move became necessary to prevent a vacuum in the party’s structure and preserve its preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ogga argued that with the court-backed removal of the current national leadership, state chairmen remain the next constitutionally recognised organ of the party and are therefore empowered to assume temporary control.

He said the proposed caretaker committee would operate in acting capacity, while its composition would be forwarded to INEC for ratification after the NEC meeting.

The development followed INEC’s decision to comply with a Court of Appeal ruling directing parties in the dispute to maintain the status quo pending determination of the substantive suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The crisis has pitched rival factions led by Nafiu Bala Gombe and Mark against each other over control of the party’s national structure.

Despite INEC’s position, the Mark-led faction insisted it would proceed with its planned national convention in Abuja on April 14, maintaining that no court order restrained its internal activities.
Ogga, however, faulted any convention held without INEC monitoring, saying such an exercise would lack legal validity.

He maintained that the intervention by state chairmen was aimed at protecting the party from collapse, adding that they would abide by the final court verdict once delivered.

Meanwhile, ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, accused INEC of misinterpreting the court order and exceeding its constitutional powers, insisting that the party’s congresses and convention remain lawful.
The crisis now places the party at a critical crossroads as it battles internal divisions ahead of 2027.