Crisis brews in ADC over Aregbesola’s appointment as interim national secretary

Tensions are escalating within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following the controversial appointment of former Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, as the party’s Interim National Secretary.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Dr. Musa Isa Matara, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, led a faction of party stakeholders in rejecting the appointment, describing it as an “attempted takeover” by external forces seeking to hijack the party for their coalition agenda ahead of the 2027 elections.

Matara criticized the move, alleging that Aregbesola’s emergence, along with other recent appointments tied to the opposition coalition, lacked proper internal consultation and violated the party’s principles of inclusion and grassroots consensus.

READ ALSO: 2027: Atiku-led coalition adopts ADC, appoints David Mark as chairman, Aregbesola named secretary

“We are not opposed to coalitions. We are not opposed to reform. But we are opposed to hijack, to imposition, and to speeches that sound revolutionary but hide elitist intentions beneath poetic language,” the statement read.

Matara said the recent announcement that the ADC would serve as the platform for a new National Opposition Coalition was both premature and misleading, noting that most of the party’s members across the country were not consulted before the move was made.

They accused the coalition architects of trying to impose a political merger on the party without grassroots input or proper legal backing.

“If anyone is attempting to force an opposition merger without grassroots consent, they are trampling on democratic ethics and party sovereignty,” the statement added.

The stakeholders further warned that the ADC is still entangled in legal disputes stemming from the 2023 general elections and that any coalition move founded on such unstable ground is both “irresponsible and potentially self-destructive.”

They didn’t mince words about their suspicions either: “Let it be known to those who are trooping into our party under this chaotic coalition arrangement that some few individuals are attempting to sell out the soul of our party for personal gain. The ADC is not for sale. It belongs to its members, not political merchants or elite dealmakers.”