…An Urgent Call for Reconciliation, Unity, and Internal Resolution Before the National Convention of April 14, 2026
Date: 06-04-2026
By: Hon Comrade James Onifade
Your Excellencies, Distinguished National Leaders of the African Democratic Congress,
I write to you today not as a member of any faction but as a concerned Nigerian patriot who believes deeply in the promise of our multiparty democracy.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) stands at a critical crossroads. The eyes of the nation and indeed the hopes of millions of Nigerians disillusioned by the failures of the ruling party and the self-inflicted wounds of the once-dominant Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are fixed on you.
Recent court pronouncements on the leadership crisis within the ADC have been widely misunderstood. Let me state this clearly and without ambiguity: the court has not delivered a final verdict on who the legitimate national leaders of the party are. The judiciary, in its wisdom, has merely advised the party to return to its roots to its own internal structures, mechanisms, and democratic traditions for resolving disputes.
This is not a defeat for any side; it is a golden opportunity. Every political party in Nigeria, from the oldest to the newest, possesses these internal instruments precisely to safeguard its progress, resolve conflicts, and maintain cohesion.
The court has, in effect, handed the ADC a roadmap back to sanity and self-determination. It is now up to you, the national leaders, to seize this moment before the National Convention scheduled for April 14, 2026.
The path forward is clear, practical, and time-tested. You must close ranks immediately and without further delay. Reconciliation is not a sign of weakness; it is the ultimate demonstration of political maturity and love for the party you have all labored to build.
The absence of key stakeholders at previous congresses has already created avoidable cracks. If these fissures are allowed to widen, the ADC risks repeating the tragic political self-immolation that occurred in Zamfara State, where internal divisions led to total disqualification, wasted resources, and a complete wipe-out at the polls. Let the Zamfara example serve as a solemn warning: when key leaders and foundational members are excluded or choose to stay away, the party does not merely lose an election it loses its very soul and its legal standing.
A total work-over awaits any party that approaches a convention or election in fragments. The ADC can not afford such a fate, especially at a time when it has emerged as the most credible opposition platform standing today.
The PDP, once the undisputed flagship of opposition politics, has been rendered virtually useless by years of unending leadership battles, expulsions, counter-expulsions, and court cases. Nigerians are tired of recycled crises masquerading as democracy. In contrast, the ADC, though younger and smaller, still carries the fresh breath of possibility. It can become the true alternative if, and only if, its leaders demonstrate the capacity to unite. This convention on April 14 must not be another arena for supremacy battles. It must be a healing ground.
To achieve this, I respectfully urge you to return to Chief Raphael Nwosu, the man who originally handled the party’s affairs and oversaw the formal handing-over processes that birthed the current structure. Let him preside over and lead the forthcoming National Convention. This is not a proposal to install him as a substantive national chairman; that decision, along with every other leadership position, must be freely and democratically determined by the delegates at the convention itself. What is required now is a neutral, respected figure to superintend the process of an honest broker who can ensure that the convention is well-arranged, transparent, orderly, and inclusive.
Under his guidance, the party can legitimately constitute its National Executive Committee (NEC) and all Excos at the national, zonal, state, local government, and ward levels in one fell swoop This single, all-encompassing convention will produce a unified leadership that every member can own and defend.
It will restore internal democracy, eliminate parallel structures, and present a single, coherent ADC to the Nigerian electorate ahead of future elections.
Crucially, every leader who has left the party, whether out of frustration, perceived marginalisation, or genuine disagreement, must be deliberately reached out to and brought back into the fold.
Reconciliation is not selective; it must be total. Invite them with open arms. Offer them genuine assurances that their voices will be heard and their contributions valued. The strength of any political party lies not in the loudness of its loudest voices but in the collective presence of all its stakeholders. Their return will not dilute the party; it will enrich it. Their absence, on the other hand, will guarantee the very disqualification and irrelevance that the Zamfara precedent so painfully illustrates.
Distinguished leaders, time is not on your side. April 14 is only some days away. The solutions still exist. The internal mechanisms are still available. The court has not closed the door; it has pointed you back to it. Embrace reconciliation. Close your ranks.
Let the National Convention become a historic moment of rebirth rather than another chapter of division. Nigerians are watching. They are hungry for a viable opposition that can truly challenge the status quo with ideas, unity, and competence, not with press statements and counter-press statements.
The ADC has the potential to be the party that restores hope to our democracy. But that potential can only be realised if you, its current national leaders, choose statesmanship over ego, unity over supremacy, and the party’s future over personal ambition.
I remain available to support any genuine reconciliation effort in whatever capacity I can, as a citizen who desperately wants to see Nigerian politics rise above the pettiness that has held us back for far too long.
May wisdom, patriotism, and the spirit of true brotherhood guide your decisions in these decisive days.
E-signed: Comrade James Onifade
Advocate for Good Governance and A Better Judicial System
