ADC Faces Fresh Crisis As Dumebi Kachikwu Emerges Factional Presidential Candidate After ‘National Convention’

Another major crisis has erupted in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following the emergence of
Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu as the 2027 presidential candidate of the party. The development followed the party’s national convention which held in Abuja on Sunday.

Kachikwu was returned as the party’s sole presidential candidate after delegates at the convention ratified his nomination amid deepening leadership tensions within the ADC ahead of the 2027 polls.

Announcing the result, the Chairman of the Electoral Committee and Benue State ADC Chairman, Elias Adikwu, declared Kachikwu duly elected as the party’s standard-bearer for the presidential election.

In a symbolic presentation shortly after the announcement, the newly elected factional National Chairman of the ADC, Mohammed Bashir Abdulkadir, handed the party’s flag to Kachikwu, charging him to lead the party into the forthcoming national contest.

The development comes amid an ongoing leadership crisis rocking the ADC, with rival factions laying claim to the party’s national structure and legitimacy.

The latest convention was held barely weeks after another faction of the party led by former Senate President, David Mark, conducted a separate national convention in Abuja on April 14, 2026.

At the convention, the Mark-led faction ratified its leadership structure and affirmed Mark as the substantive National Chairman of the party.

The faction also announced the expulsion of another factional chairman, Nafiu Bala, alongside Leke Abejide and several other members over alleged anti-party activities, particularly for taking internal disputes before the court.

Meanwhile, the Mark-led faction is expected to hold its presidential primary election on Monday, a contest expected to shape the opposition party’s direction ahead of the 2027 presidential race.

Among aspirants already cleared by the faction for the exercise are former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.

The parallel conventions and emergence of rival presidential processes have further underscored the widening divisions within the ADC as political realignments intensify ahead of the 2027 general election.