ADC Crisis Deepens as Faction Adopts Dumebi Kachikwu as Sole Presidential Candidate for 2027

Nigeria’s opposition politics recorded another twist on Saturday as a faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) announced the adoption of former presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu as its sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, intensifying an already bitter leadership contest within the party. 

The decision comes amid overlapping claims to the party’s leadership and competing efforts to control its structures ahead of the next electoral cycle.

The faction, which has consistently challenged the authority of rival blocs within the party, maintained that its actions were carried out through what it described as the legitimate structures of the ADC and in line with party rules. 

Its announcement further widens the gulf between camps aligned with Senator David Mark and those backing alternative leadership arrangements, with each side asserting constitutional legitimacy and political authority within the party. 

Kachikwu, who represented the ADC in the 2023 presidential election, has repeatedly argued that attempts to reposition the party outside established structures amount to a hijack of its identity and founding principles. In recent public remarks, he insisted the party remains capable of fielding its own presidential candidate in 2027. 

The latest declaration signals that the struggle for control of the ADC is shifting beyond leadership contests into the more consequential battle over presidential nomination and electoral legitimacy.

With rival factions issuing competing directives and political alignments becoming increasingly fluid, attention is expected to turn to electoral authorities and the courts over which structure ultimately receives formal recognition ahead of 2027.