By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has charged its governorship candidates across the country to resist provocation, shun political violence and hate speech, and focus their campaigns on issues that directly affect Nigerians.
The party also announced plans to establish a National Reconciliation Committee to resolve disagreements arising from its recent governorship primaries and reunite members ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, disclosed this while briefing journalists at the end of a meeting between the party’s National Chairman, Senator David Mark, and the party’s governorship candidates from across the country which held on Monday at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja.
Abdullahi said the meeting was convened by Mark to interact directly with the candidates and address key issues arising from the primaries, campaign strategy and the party’s preparations for the 2027 elections.
According to him, the party recognised that disagreements arising from the primaries had affected relationships among some members and contestants, making reconciliation a priority ahead of the general election.
He said the national chairman consequently urged governorship candidates to close ranks with their opponents in the primaries and work towards rebuilding unity within the party.
“The party is setting up a National Reconciliation Committee that will work across the country to bring all party members together in the aftermath of the primaries and in preparation for the general election next year,” Abdullahi said.
He added that the membership of the committee would be announced shortly.
The ADC spokesman said the second major issue discussed at the meeting was the need for candidates to conduct issue-based campaigns devoid of hate speech, ethnic profiling, religious incitement and political violence.
Abdullahi said Mark made it clear that the ADC would not subscribe to the notion that “all is fair in politics”, stressing that there were actions politicians and political parties must avoid regardless of the circumstances.
“The chairman made it very clear to them that it is not the ADC way. We are not a party that believes that all is fair in politics.
“We believe that there are some things that politicians must not do and that a political party must not do. The chairman made it very clear that it should not involve any form of violence or hate speech,” he said.
The party’s mouth piece added that the party expected its candidates to ensure that their campaigns reflected the kind of country the ADC intended to build if elected.
Abdullahi further disclosed that the national chairman directed the governorship candidates to incorporate the party’s national agenda into their campaigns, particularly its proposal to reintroduce a form of fuel subsidy aimed at reducing the cost of living.
According to him, the policy was central to the ADC’s political message and would distinguish the party from other political parties.
“He emphasised to them that it’s not an isolated issue. This is an issue that the African Democratic Congress is serious about, and is one thing that will distinguish us from all other political parties,” Abdullahi said.
He said the candidates would be provided with details of how the proposed subsidy policy would be implemented so that they could effectively communicate it to voters in their respective states.
The spokesman also addressed concerns over the possible substitution of candidates submitted by the party to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He said none of the governorship candidates at the meeting had reported that their validly nominated candidates had been substituted.
“No one has complained that his candidates, or candidates that they know in their respective states, have been substituted,” he said.
Abdullahi, however, said the party had records of all candidates it submitted to INEC and acknowledgements of the submissions, adding that any discrepancy discovered would be addressed administratively.
“If at any point it is brought to our notice that any candidate is swapped, we will deal with it administratively,” he said.
On how ADC candidates should respond to alleged attacks on campaign teams, destruction of billboards and attempts to prevent the party from campaigning in some states, Abdullahi said the party would resist such actions through lawful means.
He acknowledged that the ADC was accustomed to operating under difficult circumstances but insisted that its response would remain within the law.
“We will always do it in the ADC way, and the ADC way is the legal way. Whenever we are confronted with any form of provocation, we will resist it and we will challenge it within legal means,” he said.
The party, he stressed, would not respond to violence with violence.
“Violence is not the ADC way. Political violence, hate speech, or whatever form is forbidden in our party,” Abdullahi said.
He warned that ADC candidates who violated the party’s rules on violence and hate speech would face disciplinary measures.
“The party has a way of dealing with those issues, and we will deal with them when it happens,” he said, adding that the party was building structures capable of imposing its authority on its candidates.
Abdullahi also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of engaging in what he described as “political terrorism”, alleging that threats were being made against voters in some parts of the country.
He cited an alleged threat by a political candidate that voters who failed to support the APC would have their hands cut off, describing such statements as unacceptable political intimidation.
He said the ADC was compiling reports of such incidents and would make them public while pursuing appropriate legal action.
The spokesman also alleged that exorbitant fees being demanded for the erection of campaign billboards in some states were intended to restrict opposition parties from accessing the public communication space.
He claimed that some states were demanding as much as ₦100 million for billboard placement.
Abdullahi said the ADC would resist such measures through the courts and other lawful channels.
“We have words that we will use as weapons. We have courts that we use as weapons. We have laws that we use as weapons, and we will fight it because we are democrats,” he said.
The ADC spokesman said the party’s approach to the 2027 election would therefore combine aggressive political mobilisation with strict adherence to democratic principles, insisting that its candidates must demonstrate through their conduct the values the party seeks to promote in Nigeria.
