African Democratic Congress National Chairman David Mark has assured Nigerians that the party would sponsor candidates capable of winning elections in 2027, urging members to close ranks and resist factionalization while acknowledging the impact of Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s departure from the party’s platform.
Addressing a forum of former federal lawmakers at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Mark said the challenges the ADC had faced, including the loss of prominent figures and sustained legal battles over its leadership, would ultimately spur greater determination rather than resignation, and that the party remained committed to building a credible and competitive electoral offering for 2027.
“We must close our ranks and avoid issues of factionalization. Our opponents are bringing renegades as one-man factions. We shall overcome all their shenanigans,” Mark said, adding that Nigerians were already aligned with the ADC’s cause and that collective commitment to a shared vision remained the party’s path forward.
On the departure of Obi and Kwankwaso, Mark acknowledged their exit had a visible impact but described it as a catalyst for harder work rather than a fatal blow to the party’s prospects.
Separately, the party issued a pointed critique of the federal government’s celebration of Nigeria’s reported GDP growth figures, arguing that economic statistics divorced from the lived experience of ordinary citizens amounted to an exercise in self-congratulation that insulted millions of Nigerians enduring daily hardship.
In a statement by National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said food prices had become unbearable, transportation costs had turned punitive, small businesses were shutting down under the weight of inflation and energy costs, and salaries had lost meaningful purchasing power, all while the government pointed to headline growth figures as evidence of progress.
“People do not eat GDP. Growth that only exists in official reports while citizens descend deeper into hardship is not meaningful progress,” the statement said, urging the government to stop celebrating statistics and focus instead on policies that directly improved the lives of Nigerians at every level of the income scale.
