The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the burning of its Ekiti State Secretariat in Ado-Ekiti, describing the incident as a deliberate act of political terrorism targeted at silencing opposition voices ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
The attack, which occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, October 21, took place just hours before the party’s scheduled Reconfiguration and Affirmation Ceremony, an event meant to reaffirm the structure of its ward, local government, senatorial, and state executives.
In a statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the incident as criminal, anti-democratic, and a disgrace to all who claim to believe in political freedom.
According to Abdullahi, “This was a deliberate act of arson intended to sabotage and terrorise the opposition ahead of the governorship election in the state. The ADC condemns this barbaric act in the strongest possible terms.”
He said the timing of the attack was not coincidental, stressing that it was aimed at disrupting the party’s internal reconfiguration process and undermining its growing influence in Ekiti and across Nigeria.
The ADC spokesman lamented that the Ekiti incident was only the latest in a disturbing pattern of orchestrated aggression targeting ADC members and properties across several states since July, when the Opposition Coalition adopted the ADC as its party of choice.
“In Kaduna, on August 30, some of our party leaders were attacked during an inauguration event. In Lagos, our leaders were assaulted in Alimosho. In Kebbi, the convoy of our leaders came under attack in Birnin Kebbi in early September. And in Kogi, our party secretariat in Dekina was targeted. Let us not forget Edo State, where the sitting Governor has issued thinly veiled threats to our members,” Abdullahi said.
He noted that while each incident could be dismissed as isolated, the recurring nature of the attacks across at least five states shows a pattern too dangerous to ignore.
“This is no longer about partisanship. It is about the integrity of the political process itself,” he added.
The ADC expressed concern over what it described as the disturbing silence that has followed the repeated attacks on opposition parties, warning that democracy could be endangered if such violence continues unchecked.
“Where is the outrage from those who claim to be custodians of our democracy? A system that looks away while opposition parties are violently suppressed is a system begging for crisis,” Abdullahi queried.
Despite the setback, the ADC vowed not to be cowed by the attacks, insisting that its Affirmation Ceremony in Ekiti would go on as planned, even “under a tree” if necessary.
“We are not victims. We are builders of a future that offers an alternative,” Abdullahi declared.
“We are being attacked because our message is resonating with everyday Nigerians who are tired of the failures of the APC-led administration. The fire in Ekiti is further confirmation that the APC is afraid of the rising wave of the ADC.”
The party called on security agencies to launch a thorough investigation into the attack and prosecute those responsible. It also urged civil society groups, INEC, and international observers to take note of what it described as a “quiet war being waged against the only real opposition party left in Nigeria.”
“Despite the ashes, the ADC is not going away,” the statement concluded.
“We will continue to build, to organise, and come election day, we will remind the nation that those who resort to fire do so only when they have run out of arguments.”
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