Isaac Samuel
The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has declared that the party will not accept rigging or allow itself to be rigged out in the 2027 general elections.
Mark stated this on Wednesday when the Governing Council of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development (SCDDD), led by former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, paid an advocacy visit to the ADC national headquarters in Abuja.
The former Senate President said the ADC was committed to playing by the rules and conducting its activities in a manner that would promote public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process.
“We are committed to playing politics in a manner that promotes public confidence in democracy,” he said.
Mark said the party would comply with the rules of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guiding the 2027 elections, as well as its own Code of Conduct contained in the Orange Book.
He, however, stressed that compliance with electoral rules would not mean the party would tolerate attempts to manipulate the process against it.
“We hold ourselves to the highest standards of good conduct as a political party. We will play by the rules. But we will not accept rigging or allow ourselves to be rigged out,” Mark said.
The ADC chairman spoke after Ariwoola, who chairs the Savannah Centre’s Council of the Wise, urged the party to protect Nigeria’s democratic gains by ensuring that its candidates, officials and supporters upheld electoral laws and promoted peaceful campaigns.
Ariwoola urged the ADC leadership to abide by its constitution and Code of Conduct and ensure that its members, candidates and officials complied fully with electoral laws and guidelines issued by INEC.
He called on the party to ensure that its campaigns were devoid of rancour, hate speech and inflammatory or unguided statements capable of instigating violence.
The former CJN said political parties had a critical role to play in determining whether Nigeria would consolidate the democratic progress recorded over the past 26 years.
He said: “Mr. Chairman and members of the working committee of the ADC, let me on behalf of the Council appeal to you all as the leadership of the party, to continue to always abide by your party’s Code of Conduct and Constitution in order to ensure internal democracy in the running of your party,”
“We also wish to advise you to take steps to compel your members, candidates and officials to fully comply with the electoral laws and guidelines issued by the electoral umpire (INEC), in order to develop a culture of integrity and trust.”
Ariwoola urged political parties to remind their candidates that they were aspiring to lead the country and must demonstrate maturity, responsibility and mutual respect throughout the campaigns and elections.
“The Council and indeed Nigerians will be very grateful if all political parties will constantly remind their candidates that as aspiring leaders, they must always demonstrate high sense of maturity, responsibility and mutual respect during the general campaigns and elections, because Nigeria deserves peaceful, transparent 2027 elections,” he said.
He recalled Nigeria’s difficult electoral history since the return to democratic rule in 1999, citing violence, hate speech, vote buying, rigging and other electoral malpractices that had undermined public confidence in the democratic process.
According to him, the 2007 general election, which brought the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to power, was widely regarded as flawed, prompting Yar’Adua to establish the Electoral Reform Committee headed by former CJN, Justice Muhammad Lawal Uwais.
He said the committee produced a comprehensive report containing several recommendations, about 90 per cent of which were accepted by the government, but the death of Yar’Adua in 2010 stalled their implementation.
Ariwoola also recalled the violence that followed the 2011 general elections, particularly in northern Nigeria, saying more than 1,000 people lost their lives in the unrest.
He said the experience prompted the Savannah Centre, with support from the MacArthur Foundation in 2014, to establish the Council of the Wise ahead of the 2015 elections.
The council was established to engage political parties and other stakeholders and encourage them to work towards free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
Ariwoola said the council, initially headed by Justice Uwais between 2015 and 2022 and later led by former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, played important roles in promoting peaceful elections in 2015, 2019 and 2023.
He said the Savannah Centre reconstituted the 11-member Council of the Wise in June 2026 ahead of the 2027 elections to continue its intervention and mediation roles.
Ariwoola said the council had high expectations of Mark, given his extensive experience in Nigerian politics, urging him to provide quality leadership and ensure good conduct among ADC candidates, officials and supporters.
He also called on Nigerians to participate actively in the 2027 elections and freely elect leaders of their choice.
“For Nigeria to develop, there must be stable good governance, which could best be put in place through free, fair and transparent elections,” Ariwoola said.
