Senator David Mark, former senate president and chairman of the National Coalition of Political Opposition Movement, says the coalition’s adoption of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is a direct response to what he described as the “civilian dictatorship” entrenched by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government.
Speaking on Tuesday at a high-level gathering of opposition leaders, civil society organisations, youth groups, and political stakeholders, Mark said the decision to rally around the ADC was borne out of the urgent need to halt Nigeria’s descent into authoritarianism and a one-party state.
His words: “This coalition goes beyond seeking political power. It is a response to the hijack of our democratic institutions by the APC, the creeping dictatorship and the deliberate destabilisation of opposition parties aimed at total state capture.”
He accused the APC government of undermining democracy, enabling mass poverty and insecurity, and abandoning governance for unending politicking.
His words: “Under this government, Nigerians are hungrier, poorer and more afraid than ever before.
“The National Assembly has become an appendage of the executive, insecurity has worsened, and impunity reigns unchecked.”
Mark said the new coalition, drawn from diverse political and civic constituencies, had chosen the ADC as a united platform for the 2027 general elections and beyond, after extensive consultations.
He described the ADC as a party that would be “transformed into a true democratic platform where all members are equal stakeholders, where the youth and the elderly, men and women, technocrats and farmers, can work together to rescue Nigeria
“This is the great house into which all patriots are invited. Here, the North will hold hands with the South, and every Nigerian will have a place.”
He said the coalition’s mission is to restore democratic accountability, prioritise performance over propaganda, inclusion over nepotism, and justice over inequity.
“The opposition is united. The platform is ADC. The time is now. The mission is clear — rescue Nigeria, rebuild Nigeria and return power to the people,” he said.