A faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) loyal to former presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu has announced the dissolution of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) led by the faction associated with David Mark.
The decision was made during a factional national convention held in Abuja, where delegates from across the country gathered to restructure the party’s leadership.
At the meeting, Abdulkadir Bashir was declared the new national chairman, while Johnny Derek emerged as deputy national chairman. Other appointments included Kennedy Odion as national secretary, Joe Aro as national treasurer, and Chris Ugwu as national publicity secretary.
The faction also appointed Elias as national organising secretary, Patrick Ambut as national chief whip, Adamu Sahad as deputy national chairman for ethics, and Kingsley Oggah as chairman of its Board of Trustees.
The ADC is currently experiencing internal division, with multiple factions laying claim to the party’s leadership ahead of the 2027 general elections, including groups aligned with David Mark, Nafiu Bala, and Dumebi Kachikwu.
Legal disputes over the authentic leadership of the party have also been taken to court, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) previously stepping into the crisis and at different times suspending recognition of factional leaderships before later acknowledging one group in its party register update.
During the Abuja convention, the motion to adopt the new leadership was moved and seconded by state party chairmen before being approved by a voice vote.
The newly elected chairman, Abdulkadir Bashir, accused the rival leadership of bias and pledged to run an inclusive administration within the faction.
The faction also announced Dumebi Kachikwu as its sole presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, describing him as a consensus choice following an internal selection process.
Kachikwu, who also served as the ADC presidential candidate in 2023, is expected to lead the faction’s campaign structure ahead of the next election cycle.
