A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)in Ogun State and convener of The Alternative Movement, Segun Showunmi, has described the protest staged in Abuja by members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as ill-advised.

Members of the ADC protested on Wednesday against the derecognition of the David Mark leadership of their party by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Those present included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and former governors Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf Aregbesola, Aminu Tambuwal and Rabiu Kwankwaso. Former presidential candidate Peter Obi also joined them.

Acknowledging their right to protest, Showunmi advised them not to use it as a tool to blackmail institutions into surrender.

In a statement on Thursday, he said, “Those now shouting the loudest under the banner of grievance are, in many cases, recent converts, political migrants who only just arrived, yet already demand to harvest where they neither sowed nor invested.

“This is the contradiction at the heart of the current noise from elements within the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Having plied their trade across multiple parties, often with little regard for institutional stability, they now seek to strong-arm the system into granting them legitimacy that their own processes and, in some cases, the courts have yet to validate.”

He reminded the protesters that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not a clearing house for political desperation.

“It is not obligated to bend to street pressure, media theatrics, or the manufactured outrage of actors attempting to bypass due process. Where party constitutions are in dispute, and matters are before the courts, INEC has a duty to stand down, not cave in,” he said.

He described ADC’s action as a calculated pressure from a familiar cast of recycled politicians, long accustomed to gaming weak structures, now testing whether they can once again bend the system to their will.

Calling for the rejection of their actions, Showunmi said no country with any regard for institutional integrity allows a handful of itinerant political actors, however loud, to destabilise its processes.

“You do not reward indiscipline with recognition. You do not resolve internal incoherence through external intimidation. And you certainly do not permit those who ignored the rules yesterday to dictate outcomes today,” he said.

To address grievances, the PDP chieftain urged them to follow the party’s constitution, submit to the courts, and earn legitimacy through process, not protest.

“Anything else is not democracy; it is opportunism dressed up as agitation.

“The line must hold. Institutions must not blink. And those who seek shortcuts must be prepared to confront the consequences of their own choices,” he said.