.…urges reforms to sanction premature campaign
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially recognised the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by a former senate president, David Mark.
The confirmation which was displayed on the website of INEC, was sighted by Salient Times on Wednesday
The recognition came after an internal restructuring that resulted in the emergence of national officers to reposition the party further ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Aside from Mark, who was appointed as the interim chairman, INEC listed a former Osun governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary.
Other principal officers now officially recognised by the electoral body are a former Edo governor, Oserheimen Osunbor, as National Legal Adviser; Ibrahim Mani as National Treasurer, and Akibu Dalhatu as National Financial Secretary.
The opposition coalition officially adopted the ADC as it political platform on July 2, 2025, with the aim of contesting the presidential and other elections in 2027.
The coalition said it was set to rescue the country from collapse and rebuild its democracy.
“Let it be known to all that this coalition of national political opposition groups goes beyond gaining political power. It is a concerted effort to rebuild the crumbling pillars of Nigeria’s democracy.
“The mission is clear: Rescue Nigeria. Rebuild Nigeria. Return power to the people,” said Mark.
The former leader of the senate alleged that the Federal Government led by the All Progressives Congress (APC) had hijacked all democratic institutions, and sent the country on a “creeping descent into total civilian dictatorship” in the last two years.
Mark also said the current government was “consumed with politicking” and had abandoned governance.
“The blatant destabilisation and infiltration of all major opposition political parties is aimed at achieving only one objective: to enhance total state capture and leave Nigerians with no alternative or options in 2027. This coalition is to prevent our country’s descent into a one-party state,” he added.
Atiku Abubakar is also a leader in the opposition coalition
Also part of the movement are the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi; a former governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai; and a former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who were present at the unveiling.
Others are a former member of the National Assembly, Senator Dino Melaye; a former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalong; Dele Momodu, Senator Gabriel Suswam; Senator Ireti Kingibe of the Labour Party (LP), a former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; and a former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (retd.).
Former national chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, at the unveiling formally handed over and presented the membership card of the party to Mark andAregbesola, as the interim new national chairman and national secretary, respectively.
But the 2023 presidential candidate of the ADC, Dumebi Kachikwu, described members of the opposition coalition as “enemies of Nigeria” who were determined to drag the nation backward.
“They are enemies of Nigeria. They are enemies of progress. Nigerians can no longer be fooled. Nigerians from all walks of life watched the video—I just saw it today—and what you saw in that hall were ‘former’ this and ‘former’ that: former Vice President, former governors, former ministers.
“All these ‘formers’ are taking Nigeria back to its former glory. They’ve never taken us forward,” Kachikwu, said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, on July 2, 2025.
He also lamented the recycling of leaders who he said had brought Nigeria to its current state.
Kachikwu stated, “These same people have ruled Nigeria for the last four decades. Where are we as a country? A nation where 80 per cent of the population is poor. And now they pretend to be the fire brigade, trying to put out the fire they started.”
The Mark-led coalition said it aims to defeat President Bola Tinubu of the APC in the 2027 presidential election, but Tinubu dismissed the move, describing members of the coalition as internally displaced politicians.
Wednesday, September 10, 2025
INEC urges reforms to sanction premature campaign
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called for a legislation that would enable it to sanction political parties, candidates, and their supporters who engaged in election campaigning before the legally prescribed period.
INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at a one-day roundtable on the challenges of early political campaigns, organised by The Electoral Institute (TIE) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mr Yakubu noted that while Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 prohibited campaigns from starting earlier than 150 days before an election, it lacked a specific sanction for this particular offense.
He explained that this legal gap made it difficult for the commission to enforce the law, as the existing penalties were aimed at campaigns conducted within 24 hours of an election.
He said that while premature campaigns were prohibited and allowed elected leaders to prioritise governance over electioneering from one electoral cycle to another, political parties, candidates and their supporters seemed to be perpetually in election mood.
He said this had remained the case even when the commission is yet to release the timetable and schedule of activities for elections or ahead of the timeframe provided by law.
“Around the country, we have seen outdoor advertising, media campaigns and even rallies promoting various political parties and candidates.
“These actions and activities undermine the commission’s ability to track campaign finance limits as politicians, prospective candidates and third-party agents expend large amount of money that cannot be effectively monitored before the official commencement of campaigns.
“Quite correctly, Nigerians expect INEC, as registrar and regulator of political parties, to act in the face of the brazen breach of the law on early campaigns.
“However, the major challenge for the commission is the law itself.
“Sections 94(2) of the Electoral Act 2022 imposes sanctions, albeit mild (a maximum amount of N500,000 on conviction), on any political party or a person acting on its behalf, who engaged in campaigns 24 hours before polling day.”
He, however, said that there is no sanction whatsoever, concerning breaches for campaigns earlier than 150 days to an election.
“Here lies the challenge for the commission in dealing with early campaign by political parties, prospective candidates and their supporters,’’ he said.
Mr Yakubu said that why the problem of early campaign in Nigeria was not new, the seeming inability of INEC and other regulatory agencies to deal with the menace within the ambit of the existing electoral legal framework called for deep reflection.
He said it was in that context that INEC considered it appropriate to convene the dialogue in which legislators, leaders of political parties, civil society organisations, experts, practitioners and regulators would brainstorm on the way forward.
“I am glad that the immediate past chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, is here to share his experience on the matter in a Keynote Address.
“Similarly, as the National Assembly is currently reviewing our electoral laws, the commission has also invited the leadership of both the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Electoral Matters,’’ he said.
He expressed confidence that all stakeholders would come up with actionable recommendations.
The stakeholders, he said , included the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).
In his remarks, Abdullahi Zuru, INEC national commissioner and chairman of the board of the electoral institute, described premature campaigns as a creeping danger to Nigeria’s democracy.
Mr Zuru cited the growing use of cultural festivals, religious gatherings, and philanthropy as camouflage for veiled campaign messages, alongside billboards, branded vehicles and social media contents that skirt the law.
These activities, Mr Zuru said, distorted the political environment, and not only inflated the cost of elections but also distracted office holders from service delivery.
He added that such actions also eroded public confidence in institutions, and fed cynicism about whether laws could ever be enforced.
He called for clearer definitions in the law, stronger enforcement mechanisms, civic education for citizens, and active collaboration with media platforms to check the trend.
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, represented by the Commissioner of Police in charge of elections, Abayomi Sogunle, reiterated police’s commitment to enforcing all laws and to ensuring credible and peaceful elections in the country.
