The internal crisis consuming the African Democratic Congress took a fresh and dramatic turn on Monday as a faction of the party in Adamawa State announced the suspension of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, deepening the chaos gripping one of the opposition's most prominent coalition platforms ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The suspension was announced by the factional chairman of the ADC in Adamawa State, Muh'd Raji Sulaiman Zumo, who disclosed the decision in a post on his X account on Monday, citing alleged anti-party activities as the grounds for the action against both Atiku and Lawal. The move adds a striking new dimension to a party crisis that has already spiralled into multiple court battles, competing national leadership claims and contested state congresses, with the latest suspension targeting two of the most prominent political figures associated with the opposition coalition.
The ADC in Adamawa State has for weeks been torn apart by a bitter three-way factional war that has paralysed the party's operations and cast doubt over its ability to function as a cohesive political platform ahead of future elections. One faction is aligned with Babachir Lawal and is reportedly backing former Governor Muhammadu Jibrilla Bindow for the 2027 governorship race in the state. A second faction is loyal to former All Progressives Congress governorship candidate Aishatu Binani, who is herself eyeing the governorship ticket under the ADC platform and who has boycotted congresses organised by the Lawal faction. A third faction is led by Shehu Yohanna, who served as the party's state chairman before the ADC was adopted as a platform by the broader opposition coalition.
The crisis intensified further when a High Court sitting in Yola issued an order on April 9, 2026, directing parties to maintain the status quo and suspending the ADC congresses that had been scheduled to take place across the state, following a suit filed by the Yohanna faction challenging the legitimacy of the congress process. Despite the court order, the Babachir Lawal-aligned faction reportedly proceeded with the congresses, drawing condemnation from Binani who gathered supporters from the state's 21 local government areas in Yola and questioned the legitimacy of an exercise conducted in defiance of a judicial directive.
At the national level, the ADC leadership tussle between the David Mark-led faction and the Nafiu Bala Gombe-led faction has similarly triggered intense legal and political battles, with the Independent National Electoral Commission's controversial decision to withdraw recognition of the Mark faction's leadership drawing fierce opposition criticism and allegations of government interference in the electoral process. The Adamawa faction's suspension of Atiku and Lawal signals that the crisis has now spread firmly into the grassroots structures of the party, further complicating the opposition's effort to present a united front ahead of 2027.
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