Abejide quits ADC amid factional crisis, legal battle

The member representing Yagba East/Yagba West/Mopamuro Federal Constituency of Kogi State in the House of Representatives, Leke Abejide, has announced his exit from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), citing protracted internal crises, legal disputes, leadership uncertainty and what he described as deliberate efforts to frustrate his political ambition.

Mr Abejide, a two-term lawmaker elected on the platform of the ADC, disclosed his decision at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, but did not name the party he intends to join.

Addressing journalists, the lawmaker described his departure as painful but unavoidable.

“It is a painful decision but necessary to save my political future from those who came to destroy my former political party that I laboured hard to nurture and love dearly,” he said.

Mr Abejide traced the roots of the crisis to a suit he filed in August 2025 against key figures in the party, including former Senate President David Mark, former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola, former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu and the ADC as a corporate entity.

According to him, his legal team sought accelerated hearing due to the proximity of electoral activities, a request the court granted. However, he accused the defendants of deliberately stalling proceedings.

“The defendants who are David Mark and others kept sending different people to join my case as a way to delay the matter from being adjudicated upon by the Judge up to the time Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rolled out Timetable for political activities, for Primaries Elections and General Elections in 2027,” he said.

He added that the prolonged delays forced his lawyers to advise him to consider an alternative political platform.

The lawmaker also pointed to what he described as a leadership vacuum within the ADC, arguing that the absence of a validly recognised national chairman and national secretary could jeopardise his chances of securing a valid nomination.

“My counsel further advised me that since ADC is leaderless and with the implication of not having validly elected national chairman and national secretary respectively to sign my nomination form which is mandatory by law before one can become a valid candidate, I should seek for an alternative platform to pursue my political ambition,” he said.

He accused a faction within the party of attempting to edge out longstanding members.

“Their intention was not to grow the party but to ensure people like me… do not achieve their political ambition,” he alleged.

Mr Abejide’s exit comes amid a contentious wave of expulsions within the party.

At its last national convention, Mr Abejide was among several members expelled alongside a factional national chairman, Nafiu Bala, and other figures including Kingsley Temitope, Noman Obinna, Kennedy Odion, Stella Chukwuma and four others.

The party said the affected members were sanctioned for alleged anti-party activities and attempts to create confusion and instability within its ranks. It cited Article 19(2) of its constitution, which empowers the national convention to discipline members, including suspension or expulsion.

However, Mr Abejide dismissed the action, insisting he had already withdrawn his membership through constitutional means.

“I have willingly and voluntarily exited and had since extinguished my membership of ADC,” he said.

The lawmaker said he had concluded consultations with his political base and aligned stakeholders before taking the decision, adding that his political structure remains intact.

“My political structure has put machinery in place for the actualisation of my ambition and continued delivery of dividends of democracy,” he said.

Invoking a biblical passage, Isaiah 9:10, he likened his exit to rebuilding on a stronger foundation.

“I have decided to change the bricks… to hewn stones in a better political party,” he said.

He concluded by formally notifying his constituents and supporters of his departure from the ADC, signalling a new phase in his political career ahead of the 2027 elections.

The ADC has in recent months been engulfed in a leadership crisis, splintering into three major factions all laying claim to the party’s structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Apart from the David Mark-led bloc, widely seen as the most prominent, there are factions led by Mr Bala and former presidential candidate Dumebi Kachikwu. Both Messrs Bala and Abejide were aligned within the same faction before the lawmaker’s exit.

Despite being the only serving federal lawmaker elected on the ADC platform after the 2023 elections, the party has recently attracted defectors, including some senators and members of the House of Representatives.

Still, Mr Abejide maintained that the internal wrangling undermined his confidence in the party’s future.

Following tensions within the party, the Chief of Staff to the President and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, had in April urged Mr Abejide to remain in the ADC and resist efforts to displace him.

He described the lawmaker as a rare politician who had sustained electoral success outside the dominance of major parties.

In remarks that later went viral, Mr Gbajabiamila was quoted as saying: “Stay in the ADC… fight for your rights and don’t allow anyone take your party away from you.”

He also appeared to caution against pressure to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mr Abejide, however, clarified that the comments were made in a light-hearted context and should not be misconstrued.

“He was even begging me not to leave my party and wished me good luck in court. It was said in a jovial manner,” he said.

In his address, the lawmaker accused unnamed political actors of hijacking the ADC.

He argued that the crisis intensified about nine months ago when “politicians chased out of parties they could not manage” took control of the party.

He also referenced a recent Federal High Court judgement delivered on 29 April 2026, which he said reinforced concerns about internal irregularities.