A national leader of the African Democratic Congress, Dr Chike Okogwu, has accused political interests of exploiting the judiciary and propaganda to destabilise the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general election.
Okogwu, who is the ADC National Leader for Persons With Disabilities and a member of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council, said the controversy surrounding the party’s leadership, Senator David Mark and Nafiu Bala Gombe should not be mistaken for the collapse of the opposition party.
He said the November 5 judgment by Justice Peter Odo Lifu of the Federal High Court, which ruled in favour of Bala Gombe in the leadership dispute, was subject to appeal and should not be presented as the final determination of the party’s political future.
In a statement titled, ‘The Nigerian Judiciary and the Promotion of Political Scams and Propaganda – ADC, Bala Gombe and Justice Lifu: When Political Ambition, Judicial Pronouncements and Propaganda Become Bedfellows’, Okogwu called for a distinction between judicial decisions and the political interpretations being circulated around them.
He said, “A court judgment and the political propaganda surrounding that judgment are two different things.”
According to him, the ADC will pursue its legal options while continuing its political mobilisation and preparations for the 2027 elections.
Recounting the party’s leadership transition, Okogwu said the ADC held its 99th National Executive Committee meeting on July 29, 2025, at Chelsea Hotel, Abuja, where the existing National Working Committee was dissolved and a caretaker leadership emerged.
He said the meeting was presided over by the party’s former National Chairman, Ralph Okey Nwosu, with David Mark emerging as interim national chairman and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as interim national secretary.
Okogwu, who said he personally attended the meeting, added that officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission monitored the proceedings and that the commission received the relevant documents.
He also alleged that Bala Gombe was present during the transition, raising questions about the timing of his subsequent challenge to the leadership arrangement.
The ADC chieftain argued that the party’s meeting records, attendance register and INEC monitoring report should be considered in determining the dispute.
On the Supreme Court’s April 30, 2026, decision, Okogwu said the apex court set aside the Court of Appeal’s status quo ante bellum order, which had affected the recognition of the David Mark-led leadership on INEC’s portal.
He, however, acknowledged that the Supreme Court did not finally determine the substantive question of the validity of the leadership transition.
He said the decision was significant because it demonstrated the dangers of allowing interim court orders to disrupt the administration of political parties before substantive disputes were resolved.
Quoting former Supreme Court Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, Okogwu said judicial decisions could be scrutinised and challenged through lawful procedures without undermining the authority of the courts.
Turning to the November 5 judgment, he said the ruling in favour of Bala Gombe had raised important constitutional questions which the ADC intended to pursue on appeal.
He questioned whether the court adequately considered the party’s constitution, the resolutions of the 99th NEC meeting and INEC’s monitoring report.
Okogwu also cautioned prospective aspirants against purchasing nomination forms from individuals or groups whose authority to conduct party activities remained disputed.
He said, “Anyone purchasing a nomination form deserves clarity about the legal authority under which that form is being issued.”
The ADC leader further questioned the source of funding for Bala Gombe’s reported political activities and expensive lifestyle, including his alleged security convoy and accommodation arrangements.
He stressed, however, that the questions were matters of public accountability and not findings of financial wrongdoing.
Okogwu also alleged that political interests within the ruling All Progressives Congress could benefit from divisions in the ADC, arguing that a weakened opposition would have less capacity to challenge the ruling party’s performance.
He specifically questioned the continued political relevance of the ADC’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, insisting that a former presidential nomination did not confer permanent ownership of the party.
The party chieftain urged the media to avoid sensational headlines that could misrepresent the legal implications of the November 5 judgment.
“The media must not become an extension of political propaganda machinery. Its responsibility is to inform, investigate, interrogate and educate, not to manufacture political outcomes through headlines,” he said.
He maintained that the ADC’s political activities had continued despite the leadership dispute, citing the presidential campaign flag-offs in Sokoto and Kebbi states on November 4 and 5.
According to him, the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, attracted large crowds during the visits, which he described as evidence of growing public support.
He also alleged that the party’s convoys encountered attacks by suspected thugs in Kebbi, while its campaign activities faced attempts to frustrate access to venues and accommodation.
Okogwu said the reception demonstrated that the party’s political future should not be determined solely by the ambitions of individuals involved in its leadership crisis.
Speaking on disability inclusion, he said the ADC would continue to promote political participation, accessibility, economic empowerment and representation for persons with disabilities.
He said the party’s GAMECHANGERS initiative was part of its commitment to ensuring that persons with disabilities were recognised as active participants in governance rather than recipients of sympathy.
Okogwu urged the ADC leadership to remain focused on its manifesto, organisational structures and preparations for the 2027 elections, rather than allow the legal dispute to overshadow its political objectives.
He said, “There is a fundamental difference between winning a court case and winning the confidence of a nation.”
He added that the judiciary should determine disputes according to law, while Nigerians should ultimately decide who governs them through the ballot.
“The courtroom is not the country. The headlines are not the electorate. Political propaganda is not democracy. Nigeria belongs to Nigerians, and Nigerians will have the final say,” he said.
