•Dino Melaye and Tinubu
Former lawmaker representing Kogi West at the National Assembly, Senator Dino Melaye, has accused the All Progressives Party (APC) and President Bola Tinubu of orchestrating the legal crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Melaye described the APC as ‘desperate’, alleging that Tinubu wants to be coronated as the next president in the 2027 general election.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wants to be coronated; he doesn’t want an election, he just wants to be coronated. He wants us to practice a monarchical system of government, a Kabiyesi mentally, where he would just be coronated,” the former Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate stated on Channels Television today.
“What happened yesterday (Wednesday) was definitely motivated by the ruling party. It is not about ADC or one political party; it is about an affront on democracy, and every Nigerian should be concerned that the democracy of this country is about to be destroyed,” he added.
Resignation Letter
The senator also claimed there was a certified copy of the resignation letter of Nafiu Gombe’s as ADC deputy chairman.
“He was never deputy national chairman, as at the time he was instituting that case, he was not a national executive or official of the ADC because he resigned his appointment as the deputy national chairman. We have truly certified copies,” he said.
Meanwhile, Melaye disclosed that the ADC would hold a world press conference at 2 p.m. today.
He said decisions and strategies of the party would be explained during the conference.
“There will be a world press conference by 2 p.m this afternoon by the leadership of the ADC,” he said.
Legal Crisis
INEC had yesterday said it would cease to accept correspondence from either the Mark-led ADC or that of Rafiu Bala, following a review of the Court of Appeal judgment on March 12 this year.
A statement signed by the Chairman, Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Kudu, also noted that the commission will no longer engage with either faction, nor monitor any meetings, congresses, or conventions of the two groups until the matter at the Federal High Court is decided.
The Commission further announced that it would remove the name of David Mark from the INEC portal.
Bala (also known as Gombe), who was the vice chairman of the ADC before the Mark-led caretaker committee assumed control of the party, had approached the court to challenge the emergence of the former Senate President and his colleagues at the National Working Committee.
The opposition coalition had, in 2025, adopted the ADC as a political platform to challenge the ruling APC in the 2027 general elections.
This was followed by the former national chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, formally handing over the party’s membership card to Mark and a former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, who assumed the roles of interim national chairman and national secretary, respectively.
The resignation of the Ralph Nwosu-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the ADC in July 2025 gave rise to the Mark-led NWC.
But Gombe claimed that following Nwosu’s resignation, he automatically ought to take over as chairman.
