The frontline opposition parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and coalition-backed African Democratic Congress (ADC) will today get a glimpse of their fates as the Supreme Court sits on appeals brought before it by Kabiru Turaki and David Mark-led National Working Committees against the rulings of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division.

This is just as the embattled ADC has resolved to go ahead with its planned National Convention today amid a blame game with the authorities of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over the venue for the exercise, where at least 3,000 delegates will be attending.

According to the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the FCT management frustrated its efforts to secure the use of Eagle Square, which serves as a traditional venue for such high-profile events.

He added that even when they sought the use of Moshood Abiola National Stadium Velodrome as a fallback, the party also met a brick wall, adding that despite hiccups over venue, the party has resolved that the convention must hold at the Rainbow Events Centre.

While decrying the Federal Government’s actions as an obvious assault on democracy, the ADC publicity scribe expressed relief that the ward, Local Government and State congresses were held successfully. He condemned the apparent attempt to foist a one-party rule in Nigeria, remarking that even though we are an opposition political party, the Eagle Square does not belong to the APC.

“Generations of political parties have used the venue until President Bola Tinubu converts it to a property of the ruling party,” he stated.

WITH attention on the Federal Capital Territory, a faction of ADC in Adamawa State, home state of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has suspended the Waziri Adamawa, compounding the party’s woes.

Chairman of the ADC faction in the state, Raji Sulaiman Zumo, announced the suspension on Monday evening. Also suspended was the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal.

Recall that a faction of the ADC led by Nafiu Bala Gombe is laying claim to the position of national chairman of the party. The development prompted the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to derecognise the leadership of the ADC under former Senate President David Mark.

Reacting, Babachir Lawal said the purported suspension of Atiku, himself, and others by a group he described as “Indian hemp smokers” should be disregarded. Babachir Lawal is the Vice Chairman of the ADC, North East region. Speaking to newsmen, he said: “If some people take heavy Indian hemp, they can claim to be President of Nigeria, so don’t consider them as normal people. Indian hemp is at work.”

He said Raji has no reasonable position in the ADC that empowered him to speak on behalf of the party. Also speaking, the Adamawa State Chairman of the ADC, Mr Shehu Yohanna, said the statement credited to Raji was not only baseless but also insisted that he had left the party long ago.

“Raji was my deputy, before he disappeared to an unknown place, only for him to resurface on social media on Monday, suspending our father, Atiku Abubakar,” he said.

An Adamawa State High Court on Thursday had suspended the ADC congresses in the state. Justice Ahmed Isa of Yola High Court No. 6, who presided over the case, ordered the suspension of the congresses slated for Thursday until the determination of the case. The court adjourned the case to April 15, 2026, for continuation of the hearing. The Adamawa State chapter of the ADC has been engulfed in crisis since last year over the leadership of the party, creating three different factions.

MEANWHILE, the Rainbow Event Centre in Abuja is being adorned in the colours of the ADC ahead of its national convention today, reflecting intensified preparations for the event. ADC is set to host its 2026 National Convention with the theme, “So the Nation May Work.”

At the venue of the ADC National Convention around 8 p.m. on Monday, it was observed that the chairman of the Convention Planning Committee and former Cross Rivers State Governor, Liyel Imoke, was personally supervising the setup.

Other members of the ADC National Convention Organising Committee sighted at the venue included former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha; former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olumide Akpata; former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kola Ologbondiyan; and former Director-General of the PDP Governors’ Forum, C. I. D. Maduabum, among other coalition leaders.

It was observed that while decorators worked to ensure the venue was ready before daybreak, party supporters were seated around the hall, eagerly awaiting the commencement of activities and not perturbed by the impending decision of the Supreme Court.

Key items on the agenda at the convention include the affirmation of the National Working Committee led by David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola, as well as the approval of a reviewed party constitution and manifesto.

In the updated list of its convention committee and subcommittees, former Cross River State governor, Imoke and his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, are to serve as Chairman and Deputy of the National Convention Central Coordination Committee (NCCCC).

Checks by The Guardian revealed that during the distribution of national offices after the change of baton in ADC, which threw up the Mark and Aregbesola-led NWC, the former Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala, was ignored in the guise that he does not possess the pedigree to serve in the NWC.

An ally of the former Deputy National Chairman from Gombe, who spoke to The Guardian in confidence, said that shortly after the case was assigned in the Federal High Court, Atiku urged him (Bala) to withdraw the suit.

He stated: “But, by the time Atiku called, senior government officials in the President Tinubu administration contacted Nafiu and assured him of support. That was why Nafiu told Atiku that it was no longer possible for him to withdraw the suit. He has seen that it is possible for him to be granted control of ADC, because other former members like (Dumebi) Kachukwu have joined in the battle.”

Apprehensions are high over the anticipated verdict of the nation’s apex court on the matter, because if the court of final instance urges both parties to return to the Federal High Court, ADC’s ability to keep pace with INEC’s timetable in its preparations may be hampered.

Apart from Nafiu Bala’s case, the Supreme Court is expected to begin hearing of two appeals arising from the ongoing leadership crises within the PDP filed by a faction of the party led by Kabiru Turaki, challenging recent judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja. The PDP faction’s appeals are marked SC/CV/166/2026 (PDP vs. Hon. Austine Nwachukwu) and SC/CV/164/2026 (PDP vs. Alhaji Sule Lamido).

Today’s proceedings at the Supreme Court would provide a clear direction for the opposition political parties as preparations for the 2027 general election gather steam, particularly against the pervasive claims of ongoing efforts to streamline Nigeria’s democracy into a one-party dominance.

Recall that the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Communication, Sunday Dare, had disputed claims of a one-party state, insisting that there is no plan to have only the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the ballot in the 2027 general elections.

Dare, a former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, clarified this while speaking as a guest on Politics Today on Channels Television. He was reacting to a protest by the ADC over the decision of INEC to suspend recognition of the party’s leadership factions following various court rulings.

The ADC described the move as a plot to exclude it from the 2027 elections and staged a protest against the decision. Dare, however, dismissed the allegation, insisting that the political space remains open.

“There are 20 political parties in Nigeria today. No one is stopping them from functioning. The APC will not close shop because other political parties are enmeshed in one crisis or another,” he said.

He accused the ADC and other opposition parties of resorting to sentiment instead of building strong political structures capable of challenging the ruling party. Dare also rejected claims that the APC-led Federal Government was shrinking the political space, maintaining that opposition parties operate freely. (Guardian)

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