Opposition coalition adopts ADC, appoints David Mark chairman, Aregbesola as secretary

The African Democratic Congress (ADC), the platform adopted by the opposition coalition, has appointed David Mark, a former senate president; and Rauf Aregbesola, ex-governor of Osun state; as interim national chairman and secretary respectively.

The announcements were made during a meeting of opposition bigwigs in Abuja on Tuesday.

Bolaji Abdullahi, a former minister of sports, was appointed as the coalition’s spokesperson.

TheCable understands that the ADC would formally announce the appointments in another meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

In a post on X, Kola Ologbondiyan, a former aide to Mark and ex-national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said: “African Democratic Congress (ADC) has been adopted as the political party for the coalition. The party has elected Sen. David Mark as the Interim National chairman and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the interim National Secretary.”

In his acceptance speech, Aregbesola said the ADC must show that it is different from the other political parties in the country by being ideologically-driven.

“Our political landscape is plagued by parties that lack ideological depth. They are empty shells merging and splitting, not over policy or principle, but over power and personality. There is little regard for the people, and even less for the country,” the ADC national secretary said.

“That is not the kind of party we must be. That is not the kind of party I will serve.

“We must be the party that talks about public education and actually builds schools. That speaks of security and supports real policies to keep our communities safe. That believes in jobs and works to create them. That stands for Nigeria not just during elections, but in everyday governance.

“This is not an easy task. It will take time. It will demand sacrifice. But it can be done.

“I ask for your support not just in words, but in action. Hold me accountable. Challenge me when I stray. And stand with me as we begin this journey to rebuild our party, restore its soul, and return politics to its rightful place as a service to the people.”

BACKGROUND

Talks of a coalition to possibly wrest federal control from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) began gathering steam at the turn of the year.

Among the coalition leaders are former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, a former transportation minister; Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election; and el-Rufai, former Kaduna governor.

In May, TheCable reported that opposition leaders had agreed to adopt the ADC as the platform to challenge the ruling APC in the 2027 elections.

Ralph Nwosu, founder of the ADC, told TheCable last week that Mark possesses the capacity to provide the required focus for the coalition platform.