…Party Dismisses Reports of INEC Rejecting David Mark-Led Executive as Falsehood
By John Paul
A top figure, and one of the leading presidential contenders in the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has confirmed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is fully aware of the party’s leadership transition to a new National Working Committee (NWC) under the chairmanship of former Senate President, David Mark.
Speaking to Keeping Them Honest Daily, the party leader, who was directly involved in the negotiation process but asked not to be named, disclosed that the ADC’s existing leadership and the coalition backing Mark had reached an understanding, which was formally communicated to INEC. He described as “pure fabrication” reports alleging that the electoral umpire has refused to recognise the new ADC leadership.
The source accused elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of orchestrating the false narrative, stating that they were unnerved by the growing momentum of the ADC under its rebranded leadership. “The APC knows what is coming,” he said. “That’s why they are sponsoring these fake stories. INEC was officially notified about the new leadership after the ADC’s 99th NEC meeting. They were briefed and there’s no ambiguity about it.”
In response to the viral reports circulating on social media, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, also issued a statement dismissing the claims as deliberate misinformation. Writing on his official X handle, Abdullahi urged party members and Nigerians to disregard the rumours, insisting that Senator David Mark remains the legitimate Interim National Chairman of the party.
“The attention of ADC has been drawn to a story circulating that INEC has refused to recognise the new leadership of our party under the Distinguished Senator David Mark. This story is entirely false and should be ignored,” Abdullahi stated.
He added that Nigerians should focus on the task ahead and not be distracted by those bent on derailing the movement to rescue the nation from the stranglehold of bad governance. “We urge Nigerians to ignore such misleading reports from any quarters and stay focused on mobilising the long-suffering people of Nigeria for the great task to save our dear country,” Abdullahi said.
Insisting that INEC’s endorsement of the leadership change was beyond dispute, the top party source emphasised that the commission was present and duly briefed when the transition plan was finalised. “INEC is not run by amateurs. They were part of the process. There’s no way they’ll now come out to deny something they officially acknowledged. This is just panic propaganda from those terrified of the ADC’s new direction,” he said.
The ADC had recently submitted the report of its 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to INEC, which outlined the leadership handover, including the election of several young Nigerians into strategic positions within the NWC. Despite the social media frenzy, party insiders maintain that the leadership change is legally sound and was processed in line with INEC guidelines.