By Austin Angwe, Makurdi
A group under the auspices of the State Executive Committee (SEC) of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Benue State chapter, has called on intending members to drop their pride and join hands with old members to wrestle power from the APC-led Bola Tinubu federal government.
Spokesperson and factional Chairman of the party in Benue State, Elias Adikwu made the appeal yesterday while addressing a world press conference held at the NUJ House in Makurdi, in reaction to the ongoing leadership crisis in the ADC.
He emphasized that Benue SEC reiterated its commitment to the supremacy of the party’s constitution and to democratic, inclusive and transparent processes as enshrined in Article 2 and Article 7 of the ADC Constitution.
According to Adikwu, Benue SEC will always remain guided by the rule of law, equity and justice, and committed to promoting internal democracy and respect for constitutional authority.
Benue SEC, according to Adikwu, had accused Ralph Nwosu, founder and former national chairman of the ADC of illegalities before and during the transition process.
Adikwu recalled that Nwosu’s tenure as National Chairman ended in August 2022 and that Justice Binta Nyako ruled in December 2022 that his tenure had expired and any action taken afterward by his leadership remains null and void, citing Nwosu’s mini convention in Zaria in October 2022, where he reappointed himself and members of the NWC, as one of such actions rejected by INEC.
He on behalf of the committee also faulted the emergence of the Senator David Mark-led Caretaker Committee and NWC, describing it as flawed and in violation of Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2026.
The spokesperson of the group argued that failure of Nwosu’s led NWC to submit records of their meeting violated section 82(1) of the Electoral Acts and renders the meeting that produced Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola ‘s leadership invalid.
He said Benue SEC further declared as illegal and unconstitutional the Membership Registration, Mobilization and Revalidation (MRMR) and Leadership Teams set up by the Mark-led NWC at state, ward and polling unit levels.
Adikwu argued that Article 14(19) B(ii) of the party’s constitution does not authorize the NEC to create parallel structures in states that would usurp the functions of State Executive Committees.
According to Adikwu,SEC pointed out that many individuals on those committees were not card-carrying members of the party and had not either resigned from their previous parties as required by Article 8.
He said the party in Benue State duly respected INEC’s directives on congresses and the national convention and did not engage in any congress activities in the state, insisting it will not participate in the purported convention pending further directives from INEC and a properly constituted NEC.
The SEC Adikwu revealed also affirmed the suspension of Senator Emmanuel Orker-Jev, Terngu Tsegba, Samson Okwu, Herman Hembe and Alex Adum for allegedly violating the ADC Constitution.
He assured that the State Executive Committee will always remain resolute in upholding the constitution of the party and reaffirmed its loyalty to the duly elected leadership at the state level, chaired by Elias Adikwu.