By Tom Garba, Yola
In a scathing critique released to the media late Friday, November 14, 2025, prominent legal practitioner and electoral law expert, Samson Bukar Mshembula Esq., has issued a stern warning to the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Adamawa State, urging strict adherence to the party’s constitution and the rule of law to avert a total collapse of the chapter.
Titled “CHAOS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE LEADERSHIP CRISIS IN ADAMAWA STATE CHAPTER OF THE AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS, A CASE OF THREE FIGHTING”, the opinion piece dissects the ongoing tripartite leadership tussle that has splintered the party into warring factions, potentially jeopardizing its prospects ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Mshembula, a seasoned barrister with a deep interest in party governance and Nigerian jurisprudence, described the crisis as a “self-inflicted quagmire” that mocks the ADC’s founding principles of progressive politics and internal democracy.
“The African Democratic Congress (ADC), heralded as a beacon of progressive politics in Nigeria, today finds itself mired in a self-inflicted quagmire in Adamawa State,” he wrote, emphasizing that what started as internal jostling has escalated into full-blown anarchy.
At the epicenter of the turmoil are three individuals each asserting legitimacy over the state chairmanship: Comrade Shehu Yohanna, who positions himself as the substantive chairman claiming election through a prior State Congress; Hon. Barrister Sadiq Dasin, appointed as interim chairman by the National Working Committee on October 8, 2025, and formally endorsed in a communique dated October 29, 2025; and Alhaji Saidu Komsiri, backed by a splinter group aligned with certain political interests including ties to the Binani faction, as a caretaker leader.
Mshembula noted his personal acquaintance with both Yohanna and Dasin, stating, “Fortunately, Hon. Dasin and Comrade Shehu are my very good friends and acquaintances,” yet proceeded with an impartial legal dissection. He argued that this “tripartite anarchy” violates the ADC Constitution’s supremacy clause under Article 2 and exposes the party to external manipulation.
The national leadership’s role has come under particular fire. The NWC’s appointment of Dasin as interim chairman is labeled “constitutional vandalism” by Mshembula, as Article 17, Section 4 of the ADC Constitution vests vacancy-filling authority exclusively in the State Executive Committee (SEC), not the NWC.
“This is not leadership; it is constitutional vandalism, eroding the federal character of party democracy and inviting endless factionalism,” he asserted.
Compounding the chaos is the perceived ambivalence from the national office. Despite the NWC’s October 29 communique ratifying Dasin and warning against factionalism, ADC National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi has issued calls for reconciliation.
However, Mshembula clarified that as of November 14, 2025, the national secretariat deals exclusively with Dasin’s committee, with no evidence of dual recognition of Yohanna.
A significant portion of Mshembula’s analysis targets the interventions of former Vice President His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, whose shifting endorsements have been described as “perfidious” and “calculated hedging.”
On October 28, 2025, Atiku publicly congratulated Dasin and Blaise Hungushi Osagie upon their inauguration, backing the Dasin-led interim leadership as a stabilizing force and aligning it with his rumored role as ADC’s national leader for 2027, yet barely two weeks later, on November 13, 2025, he pivoted to commend Yohanna as the state chairman for resigning from Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s administration and reaffirming commitment to the ADC, hailing it as a commendable show of integrity.
“This duplicity is not mere inconsistency; it is a calculated hedge, exploiting the ADC’s vulnerabilities to bolster Atiku’s influence while the crisis simmers,” Mshembula wrote.
He warned that such “godfatherism” undermines party cohesion and contradicts the ADC’s ethos, potentially complicating judicial resolutions by lending undue legitimacy to factions.
Mshembula delivered a meticulous breakdown of the ADC Constitution as amended and registered with INEC, exposing how the Adamawa crisis tramples its foundational pillars: the State Congress stands as the unchallenged apex organ under Article 12, encompassing the State Chairman, SEC members, national and state legislators, local government chairmen, and three delegates from each local government, empowered to elect SEC officers including the State Chairman for a four-year term renewable once through Article 13 Section 9 and Article 17 Section 1(a); the State Executive Committee operates as the engine of daily governance under Article 12 Section 9 and Article 13 Section 8, with a precise roster covering zonal vice-chairmen, secretaries, treasurers, and additional elected members balanced by gender and district, convening quarterly on a one-fourth quorum; and vacancy rules in Article 17 Section 4 mandate only a temporary substitute appointed by the SEC from the same zone until the next Congress, with zero tolerance for parallel interim, transition, or caretaker structures that now mock the party’s legal order.
The State Working Committee may manage routine matters but operates under the SEC’s umbrella (Article 13, Section 6). Mshembula argued that the parallel structures in Adamawa render all claims unconstitutional nullities.
Drawing on Nigerian electoral law, Mshembula issued a grave warning of the dire repercussions under the Electoral Act 2022, where Sections 85 through 87 compel unwavering internal democracy within political parties, rendering any breaches ripe for judicial nullification as evidenced by the landmark precedent in Ogbuojor v. INEC (2020) that struck down illegitimate factional executives for lacking proper congressional ratification; he spotlighted Comrade Yohanna’s simmering lawsuit at the Adamawa State High Court, now adjourned to November 20, 2025, where he demands sweeping injunctions to halt Dasin, Komsiri, and the NWC in their tracks, potentially branding such interim roles as ultra vires overreaches or dragging national officers into the quagmire of contempt charges, all while broader perils loom large from the derailment of 2027 candidate nominations inviting brutal INEC sanctions under Section 225, rampant financial misappropriation amid clashing dual treasuries, waves of disillusioned member defections breeding voter apathy, and the ultimate specter of full party deregistration if this festering factionalism spirals unchecked.
Mshembula demanded swift and decisive action to salvage the party: convene a lawful State Congress to hold genuine elections free from any impositions, compel the national office to retract Dasin’s interim designation and initiate proper mediation under Article 15, and halt all external interference, especially from Atiku Abubakar.
“Nigeria’s democracy thrives on stable institutions, not shadow puppeteers. Let the ADC in Adamawa heed this: True power lies in unity, not usurpation,” he concluded. “Failure to resolve this by the November 20 hearing will not just fracture a chapter—it will foreclose a party’s future.”
The ADC national secretariat has yet to respond officially to Mshembula’s critique. Party stakeholders in Adamawa remain divided, with sources indicating heightened tensions ahead of the court date. As the clock ticks toward 2027, the crisis underscores the fragility of Nigeria’s multi-party system when ambition overrides ideology.
Best wishes to the ADC as it chews, swallows, digests, and implements this free legal advice, Mshembula signed off.
