The leadership problems in the African Democratic Congress, ADC, have got worse as state chairmen of the party have supported the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to remove the David Mark group from the leadership.

Abia State ADC Chapter Chairman, Don Norman Obinna, said this at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said the state chairmen have separated themselves from both the David Mark and Nafiu Bala Gombe groups of the ADC.

According to him, the decision was made on Tuesday after a National Executive Committee meeting held in Abuja. Obinna, standing with other state chairmen, said, “We fully support INEC in not recognising the David Mark group.”

He said the leadership of the ADC, under the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, is legal and genuine.

“ADC has no separate groups, we are the legal leadership.

“The time of Ralph Nwosu as Chairman of the ADC ended in August of 2022. Nwosu’s refusal to step down as chairman led to a series of court cases with Justice Nyako ruling in December of 2022 that Nwosu’s time had expired and that any action taken by him and his NWC after the end date were invalid.

“One of the illegal actions taken by Nwosu was calling a mini convention in Zaria in October of 2022 where he reappointed himself and people like Nafiu Gombe as the NWC of the party, but INEC firmly rejected this convention.

“This matter then went all the way to the Supreme Court when the group now known as the David Mark coalition made a deal with Ralph Nwosu. Before this dodgy deal, INEC received several messages from the NEC of the party from August of 2022 but strangely refused to act even on valid court orders. Nwosu announced the suspension and in some cases the removal of state chairmen of the party who opposed his attempt to continue as chairman of the party. INEC eventually started an alternative dispute resolution process to solve the issues within the ADC.

“The key result of the ADR which was signed by both parties was that the ADC would immediately go into a convention to produce a new leadership.

“This has not been done almost two years later but instead he tried to illegally transfer leadership of the party to people who were not members of the ADC.

“The David Mark group put in place measures to remove all the state chairmen of the party for the simple reason that they did not fit the type of chairmen who could represent the elite. We had filed two court cases challenging the illegality of their actions before INEC’s recent position.

“In the absence of the National Working Committee since August 2022, the NEC being a constitutional, valid and existing body of the party remains the only authority to speak on behalf of the ADC. Following an emergency NEC meeting held today the 7th of April, 2026, we now resolve and state the following:

“We separate the ADC from David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, Bolaji Abdullahi, Prof Osunbor and all members of the so-called coalition who tried to take over our party and state that all actions taken by them in the name of the ADC are not binding on the ADC. We separate the ADC from the claims of Nafiu Gombe and firmly state that he has never held the position of deputy chairman of the ADC. The ADC remains a party of and for all Nigerians and not just for former political office holders and the elite. The ADC is also not for sale.

“The people who have called themselves the Coalition have no democratic credentials and are only interested in a power grab as shown by the way they tried to take over our party and throw out the original members.

“We confirm that our former presidential candidate, Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu, is a committed and genuine member of our party whose supposed expulsion by the David Mark group was an act of desp