Party unveils unity movement
Two factions of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Cross River and Oyo States are battling for control of the party’s state structure.

The factional rift broke out in Cross Rivers yesterday, but for the Police intervention that quelled the tension.
 
A faction of the party, reportedly aligned with the former governor of the state, Liyel Imoke, was out to inaugurate a Membership Mobilisation, Revalidation and Registration (MMRR) committee as part of a membership drive.
 
The event, tagged ‘Formal Flag Off of Membership Mobilisation, Revalidation and Registration Inauguration of Local Government Committees’, triggered tension after personnel of the Nigerian Police cordoned off the proposed venue for the meeting.
 
The inauguration, scheduled to be held at an event centre along Marian Road in Calabar on Tuesday, was prevented from taking place after officers of the Cross River State Police Command sealed the venue.
 
Following the development, the state Commissioner of Police, Rashid Afegbua, summoned leaders of the two factions to his office as tensions heightened.
 
Confirming the development, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata, said the command intervened due to an internal dispute within the party.

Also, the ADC in Oyo State has been plunged into a fresh leadership crisis as two rival factions within the party lay claim to the Membership Revalidation and Membership Registration (MRMR) Committee overseeing the ongoing membership exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections.
 
The dispute intensified yesterday when the party’s state leadership reaffirmed Ayo Akinyemi as the duly recognised chairman of the committee, dismissing claims by another camp that a separate committee had been constituted to supervise the exercise.
 
The clarification was made by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Bimpe Adelowo, during a press briefing at the ADC Secretariat in Mokola, Ibadan.

Meanwhile, the ADC launched a movement called 1ADC in Abuja yesterday as part of its efforts to close the gap among all its members, regardless of age, socioeconomic status, or political interests, ahead of the 2027 elections.
 
National Coordinator of the Movement, Mrs Lauretta Onochie, while performing the unveiling, said the movement was born out of the necessity to bring together all stakeholders and political interests that make up the ADC and to provide a platform for togetherness and a clear focus on the challenges ahead.
 
According to her, the platform will ensure that supporters of all the gladiators, be it Mr Peter Obi, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, or Former Rivers Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, will be able to work as a team and set the focus to be able to squarely confront a common opposition, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
 
“We are here to inform the world, the state, and our political leaders that we have come together to be united as one ADC.”
 
Onochie maintained that for the ADC to prevail, there must be a statement of unity and purposes, and because Nigerians are asking an important question as to whether political parties can ever come together and unite, today we are here to say it is possible and we are taking that lead.”
 
She acknowledged that in every political movement, there are bound to be disagreements; however, the collective goal and future supersede every interest.