A fresh leadership crisis has rocked the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Benue State, as over 500 members who recently left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the ADC have now returned to the PDP.
This sudden reversal comes just days after the ADC appointed former Senate President David Mark as its interim national leader following his own defection from the PDP. Mark had cited unresolved internal conflicts within the PDP as his reason for switching parties.
Initially seen as a major boost for the ADC, the move has instead triggered chaos within the party. Sources say tensions started in Ogbadibo and Okpokwu Local Government Areas, where long-time members of the Labour Party and Social Democratic Party (SDP) accused the former PDP members of trying to seize control of local ADC leadership positions.
An insider explained, “They want to corner all the juicy positions and leave us with irrelevant roles.”
In Otukpa and Owukpa, discontent grew as defectors claimed they were promised leadership roles but were sidelined when the interim committee was formed. Sunday Agbo, a former local government official from Ogbadibo, said, “They promised we would keep our positions, but we were left out, while others, including those who had defected to APC, got key roles.”
Similar frustrations were reported in Okpokwu, where many returning to the PDP blamed power struggles and exclusion from leadership decisions.
Party sources confirmed that most former PDP members who joined ADC are now deeply unhappy with internal conflicts, poor coordination, and broken promises, leading them to return to their former party.
This crisis threatens to weaken the ADC’s influence in Benue just as the political climate heats up ahead of upcoming elections.