Reported by Antiketu Musa, Journalist | Journalist at Sele Media Africa.
ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress on Wednesday dismissed accusations by the African Democratic Congress that it undermines democracy, and told the opposition party to fix its own leadership crisis instead. The APC said the dispute inside the ADC, not interference from the ruling party, drives the turmoil now shaking the opposition bloc in Abuja. (premiumtimesng.com)
The exchange lands at a tense moment for Nigeria’s opposition politics. The ADC has emerged as a coalition platform for several prominent politicians ahead of the 2027 general election, while court cases and electoral recognition disputes continue to test the party’s structure. (apnews.com)
APC Fires Back In Abuja
The APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, and National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, rejected the ADC’s claim that the ruling party weakens democratic institutions. Premium Times reported on April 2, 2026, that Morka described the ADC leadership as a group of “confused, desperate politicians,” while saying it would be irresponsible to blame the APC for internal opposition disputes. (premiumtimesng.com)
The party’s message echoed its earlier public stance that opposition leaders should resolve their own quarrels rather than look outward for blame. TheCable reported on March 15, 2026, that Morka had already framed the opposition coalition as fragile and internally divided, with the ADC at the centre of that struggle. (thecable.ng)
Court Dispute Deepens Pressure
The APC’s rebuttal followed a legal and administrative spiral inside the ADC. Premium Times reported on April 1, 2026, that the Independent National Electoral Commission suspended recognition of all ADC leadership factions after a Court of Appeal ruling and ongoing litigation over who controls the party. (premiumtimesng.com)
That step matters because INEC recognition affects which faction can present itself as the legitimate party leadership in dealings with the electoral commission. Premium Times also reported on April 2, 2026, that the ADC accused INEC of undermining democracy and interfering in internal party affairs, showing how the dispute has moved from party politics into institutional confrontation. (premiumtimesng.com)
What The APC Says Happened
According to the APC’s public response, the court ruling and internal confusion inside the ADC grew out of disagreements among its own leaders. Premium Times reported that the APC said it had no role in the factional battle and no responsibility for the legal consequences facing the opposition party. (premiumtimesng.com)
That line of defence seeks to shift the debate away from democratic backsliding and toward party management. In practical terms, the APC wants to present the ADC as a party struggling with its own internal contradictions at the same time as it tries to build a national opposition coalition. (premiumtimesng.com)
Opposition Coalition Under Strain
The ADC’s current role in Nigerian politics explains why this row carries wider weight. AP reported on July 2, 2025, that key opposition leaders unveiled a coalition under the ADC to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s APC in 2027, with David Mark leading the alliance and Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi among its high-profile backers. (apnews.com)
Since then, the ADC has drawn more political defectors and sharper scrutiny. Premium Times reported on March 30, 2026, that former Kaduna governorship candidate Isa Ashiru left the PDP for the ADC, citing persistent internal leadership crisis, conflict and division inside his former party. (premiumtimesng.com)
That pattern gives the APC fresh ammunition. The ruling party now argues that opposition figures who cannot stabilise their own platforms cannot credibly accuse the government of strangling democracy. That argument does not end the controversy, but it sharpens the political stakes heading into the next election cycle. (premiumtimesng.com)
Why The Legal Angle Matters
Nigeria’s courts now sit at the centre of the dispute. Premium Times reported on April 1, 2026, that INEC froze recognition of ADC factions after the Court of Appeal ordered parties to maintain the status quo pending the outcome of the substantive case at the Federal High Court in Abuja. (premiumtimesng.com)
That matters because party leadership disputes often decide who signs documents, controls nominations and speaks for the party in formal dealings. TheCable reported on February 24, 2026, that a separate court case also sought to deregister the ADC and four other parties, showing how election law and party compliance continue to shape Nigeria’s opposition landscape. (thecable.ng)
In Nigeria, the legal test for party disputes often turns on whether a matter concerns internal affairs or election nominations. TheCable reported in April 2025, in a separate political dispute, that courts generally avoid internal party questions except where candidate nomination issues arise, a principle that helps explain why today’s ADC case has produced such legal and political tension. (thecable.ng)
What The Numbers Actually Mean
The dispute also highlights a larger arithmetic problem for Nigeria’s opposition. The APC still governs at the federal level, while the opposition remains split across the PDP, Labour Party, NNPP and ADC, each with its own factional fights. TheCable reported on March 15, 2026, that those divisions have weakened the opposition’s ability to capitalise on economic and security pressures facing the Tinubu administration. (thecable.ng)
That means the APC’s response carries more than rhetorical value. If the opposition cannot unify around a stable platform, the ruling party faces less coordinated pressure ahead of 2027. If the ADC’s coalition survives its internal fights, however, it can still serve as a credible national vehicle for anti-APC sentiment. (apnews.com)
Reactions From Both Sides
The ADC has not accepted the APC’s framing. Premium Times reported on April 2, 2026, that the party accused INEC of bowing to political pressure and interfering in its leadership crisis, signalling that it sees the dispute as part of a broader struggle over political space. (premiumtimesng.com)
The APC, meanwhile, insists the controversy reflects the opposition’s own weakness. Premium Times reported that the ruling party described the ADC as an assembly of politicians consumed by internal contradiction, a message aimed not only at the ADC but at the wider opposition coalition. (premiumtimesng.com)
No direct response from the APC was available in the material supplied beyond the party’s joint briefing position and its earlier public comments. No independent legal ruling in the material supplied found APC involvement in the ADC dispute, and the reports instead point to internal leadership conflict and court supervision. (premiumtimesng.com)
Pan-African And Global Significance
Nigeria’s fight over opposition leadership matters beyond Abuja. In Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, internal party disputes have also shaped coalition politics, candidate selection and voter trust, showing that democratic competition weakens when parties cannot resolve leadership questions transparently. Nigeria’s case matters because Africa’s largest democracy often sets the pace for regional political norms. (apnews.com)
For West Africa, the dispute also carries governance implications. When electoral commissions, courts and parties pull in different directions, citizens lose confidence in institutions that should regulate competition fairly. That lesson matters in Senegal, Sierra Leone and Liberia, where opposition unity and institutional credibility also influence election outcomes and political stability. (premiumtimesng.com)
What Happens Next
The next decisive moment will come from the courts and from the ADC’s own internal negotiations. If the party settles its leadership dispute and restores clarity around who speaks for it, it can return to the broader fight against the APC on policy and elections. If the conflict deepens, the APC will keep using it to argue that the opposition cannot govern itself, let alone Nigeria. (premiumtimesng.com)
Sources:
- Premium Times, reported on APC response to ADC leadership crisis and INEC dispute, April 2026
- Premium Times, reported on INEC freezing recognition of ADC factions, April 2026
- Premium Times, reported on ADC accusations over INEC and democracy, April 2026
- TheCable, reported on APC and opposition coalition disputes, March–April 2026
- AP, reported on ADC opposition coalition launch, July 2025
- Sele Media Africa, related political coverage, https://selemedia.org/
