The National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has warned that the party will comply with electoral rules but will resist any attempt to manipulate the 2027 general elections or exclude it from the contest.
Mark made the remark on Wednesday in Abuja when he received the Governing Council of the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, led by former Chief Justice of Nigeria Olukayode Ariwoola, at the ADC national headquarters.
The Council of the Wise — the centre’s governing council — visited the party as part of ongoing engagement with political parties and other stakeholders ahead of the 2027 elections. Ariwoola said the Centre sought commitments from political parties and their candidates to ensure peaceful, free, fair and credible elections. He also urged the ADC leadership to ensure that its candidates and supporters complied with the rules of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and avoided conduct likely to trigger political violence.
Responding, Mark said the ADC was prepared to abide by election regulations and the party’s own code of conduct but would not accept electoral manipulation.
“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,” he said. “We are committed to playing politics in a manner that promotes public confidence in democracy.”
Mark added that the party would comply with INEC’s guidelines and with provisions of its Orange Book, which sets out the ADC’s code of conduct and governance principles. He also previously warned against the use of state institutions to manipulate the 2027 elections, stressing that the credibility of the polls must be protected.
The warning came as the Savannah Centre intensifies consultations with political actors and other stakeholders. The Council of the Wise, reconstituted in June and chaired by Ariwoola, has been mandated to promote peaceful, free and credible elections and to engage key institutions and political actors. Its recent engagements have included meetings with presidential candidates and other stakeholders, with repeated calls for adherence to electoral rules, issue-based campaigns and the prevention of violence and hate speech.
Ariwoola’s delegation to the ADC included members of the Council of the Wise, among them Professors Abdullahi Shehu and Azeez Dankano, Executive Director of the Centre, Ambassador Sani Bala, Mr Tunji Lardner and Ambassador Godswill Ighali.
The ADC leadership told the delegation its commitment to peaceful democratic participation would not be in doubt, but insisted that compliance with the rules must be matched by a credible electoral process. The party has repeatedly called for transparent and inclusive elections and warned against manipulation, intimidation and the abuse of state institutions.
For the Savannah Centre, these stakeholder engagements form part of broader efforts to build consensus among political actors on the need for peaceful participation and credible elections in 2027. The Centre said the Council of the Wise would engage the President, INEC leadership, political parties, security agencies, traditional and religious leaders, civil society groups and other stakeholders ahead of the polls.
The ADC’s position places electoral integrity alongside peaceful participation as central concerns in its preparations for the 2027 elections, with Mark insisting the party will both respect the rules and defend its right to compete on an equal footing.
Dirisu Yakubu is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over a decade of experience covering parliament, politics and development issues. He specialises in reporting that provides context and insight into legislative and governance matters.
