The Imo State chapter of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has been thrown into fresh turmoil following the emergence of another parallel leadership signaling a deepening rift within the party allegedly taken over by former Governor Emeka Ihedioha.
Ihedioha, dumped the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP, before its 2023 governorship primary, giving way to the sole emergence of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the flag bearer of the party during the 2023 poll.
He later pitched his political tent, Rebuild Imo Movement, with the coalition that formed the new ADC to relaunch his governorship ambition.
The move was said to have unsettled the party’s foundation members in the state, with key members describing it as a hijack of the party structure for personal political gain.
The crisis came to its climax on October 18, 2025 with the inauguration of another Caretaker Committee at Uzii Mission, Owerri, which saw the emergence of Comrade Ogbonna Vitalis Chima as the new factional Chairman.
At the inauguration, the candidate of the party for Mbaise Federal Constituency in the 2023 general elections, Mr Chinonso Uba, popularly known as Nonsokwa, described the move as the rallying point for the reclamation of the party’s integrity.
He charged the new leadership to uphold the party’s constitution and resist any attempt to compromise the political ideology of the party.
Uba added that the ADC must remain a people driven movement and not an avenue for actualizing personal political interest.
Earlier, in a statement signed by the party’s new Acting Secretary, Chidi Anoruo, the new faction accused James Okoroma of selling the party’s soul to the Rebuild Imo movement, allegedly in exchange for personal political relevance.
The statement queried, “Who will sit back when another man comes into his house and takes over his wife?”
Anoruo further accused Okoroma of trading away ADC’s leadership positions at the state, LGA and wards level to Rebuild Imo loyalists.
The faction also faulted the coalition process which birthed the Rebuild Imo ADC, alleging gross violation of the party’s constitutional provisions and its integration principles.
“The required 30/70 sharing ratio between ADC and coalition members was ignored, as Rebuild Imo supporters with no recognized party status were illegally assimilated into leadership positions,” Anoruo further stated.
He pointed out that the party’s constitution is very clear on membership and leadership, adding that no one becomes a party leader without proper registration and membership.
The party’s Acting Secretary commended Uba for standing up against what the party described as an “illegal and unconstitutional coalition” that allegedly pushed out the party’s original members from leadership roles.
The newly inaugurated Caretaker Chairman, Comrade Chima, in his acceptance speech, vowed to restore the party’s lost glory and announced that a new strategic action plan would soon be unveiled to reposition the ADC ahead of 2027.
“We are reclaiming what is rightfully ours. The days of manipulation are over,” he declared.