The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected claims by a faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by Senator David Mark, accusing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of plotting to weaken the opposition and impose a one-party state, describing the allegations as “puerile propaganda” and “deliberate mischief.”
The APC National Working Committee (NWC), through its National Secretary, Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, and National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, dismissed the claims at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, saying the opposition’s outcry reflects a group grappling with self-inflicted legal challenges.
Reacting to the claim that the Presidency is stifling opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections, Basiru maintained that the President is a democrat who respects the multi-party system.
“As at today, there are 19 registered political parties in Nigeria with the potential to compete in the 2027 election, and President Tinubu has no power to deregister any political party,” Basiru stated. He added that opposition leadership is “earned through consistent electoral credibility and public trust,” rather than through “rhetoric” at press conferences.
The ruling party clarified that the Mark faction’s current predicament stems from a botched attempt to hijack the ADC leadership, which resulted in a crushing defeat at the Court of Appeal.
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According to the APC, the appellate court dismissed Mark’s appeal as “unmeritorious” and “procedurally flawed,” ordering all parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum regarding the leadership of the ADC. The APC noted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was simply obeying this court order by withdrawing recognition of the faction.
“In this circumstance, where does President Bola Tinubu feature in their predicament, if not in outright fallacious and malicious propaganda?” the statement queried.
On the ADC’s call for the sack of the INEC Chairman and National Commissioners, the governing party slammed Mark, labeling the demand “preposterous” and a display of “recklessness.”
The ruling party also warned that the ADC’s insistence on proceeding with all congresses and national conventions despite a pending court case is an invitation to anarchy.
“The public defiant posture of Senator Mark and his factional ADC leadership… not only amounts to self-help but recklessness and a clear display of irresponsibility,” Basiru said.
Basiru further cautioned, “We hope that they will not come to tell Nigerians that it is the APC or President Bola Tinubu that is weakening democracy when they meet the consequences of their planned illegality!”
Drawing a parallel to the APC’s past internal struggles, the National Secretary reminded the opposition that political parties must bear the consequences of their internal mismanagement.
“When the All Progressives Congress lost all the seats it had won in Zamfara State due to its own unresolved internal crisis, no outrage, no conspiracy theories, just the consequences of failing to put your house in order,” Basiru recalled.
Describing the David Mark-led coalition as a “contraption of electoral unviability,” Basiru concluded that the ruling party remains focused on governance rather than the internal “finger-pointing” of a rejected opposition.
