By Correspondent in Lokoja.
(C) Google.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Kogi State is caught in a deepening leadership crisis, with two rival factions issuing conflicting claims over suspensions, leadership authority, and allegiance to the party’s constitution.
Our correspondent reports that the internal rift has raised fresh questions about the party’s cohesion and viability ahead of future electoral contests.
On one side, a faction led by Hon. Kingsley Temitope Ogga,recognized by a section of the party as State Chairman,announced the ratified suspension of the party’s 2023 governorship candidate, Hon. Leke Abejide, his running mate Dr. Idris Omede, and four others.
The suspended members were accused of anti-party activities, disloyalty, and insubordination.
At a press briefing held in Lokoja on Monday, the State Secretary, Hon. John Adaji Udale, alleged that the suspended individuals convened an unauthorized meeting at Harris Hotel in Abuja, where they purportedly usurped party authority and violated internal protocols.
“The decision was ratified by the State Working Committee and is backed by our constitution,” Udale said, adding that the affected members have been summoned to appear before the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) in Abuja on August 11, 2025, for a formal hearing.
In a swift rebuttal, a parallel faction claiming to represent the authentic leadership of the ADC dismissed the suspensions as baseless and insisted that Ogga himself was expelled from the party in 2022.
That decision, they said, was endorsed at the ward, local government, and state levels and has not been overturned.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting at Lily Hotel in Lokoja, the faction’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Johnson Tayo, described Ogga’s continued claim to party leadership as “a figment of his imagination.”
“We do not recognize Kingsley Ogga as a member, let alone as chairman. His suspension renders all his actions null and void,” Tayo stated.
He further reaffirmed Hon. Leke Abejide,the House of Representatives member representing Yagba Federal Constituency and the party’s only elected official nationwide,as the undisputed leader of the party in Kogi and at the national level.
According to Tayo, the faction also rejected affiliation with the Coalition Movement, arguing that it does not align with the interests of grassroots members.
The Reporters gathered that at the heart of the crisis is a contest for control over the party’s structure in the state, which influences decisions on electoral alliances, candidate nominations, and political direction.
Some observers say the conflicting suspensions and claims have sown confusion among party loyalists, with both factions preparing for a showdown at the upcoming NWC hearing.
As of the time of filing this report, the ADC’s national leadership had yet to issue a formal position on the legitimacy of either faction.
Political analysts warn that if reconciliation efforts are not made urgently, the ADC risks weakening its influence in Kogi State and beyond ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
