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By Oscar Okhifo
Twenty-four hours after former Senate President David Mark, alongside Peter Obi, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and other chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with a mammoth crowd demanding recognition, a rival faction of the party led by Nafiu Bala Gombe on Thursday staged a counter-protest at the Commission’s office in Abuja.
The Gombe-led faction alleged that a rival bloc linked to David Mark was making moves to hijack the party’s leadership structure, stressing that it remains the duly constituted authority within the ADC.
Waving placards and chanting solidarity songs, the protesters urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognize what they described as the party’s legitimate leadership and reject any attempt to impose a parallel structure.
Speaking to reporters at the scene, Gombe cautioned that any decision by the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognize the rival faction could erode internal party democracy and set a dangerous precedent.
He further accused the opposing camp of deploying political influence to gain undue advantage, urging the electoral body to remain impartial and be guided strictly by due process.
The development underscores the deepening rift within the ADC, as both camps continue to assert legitimacy, with the Commission yet to make a formal pronouncement on the dispute.