Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
Former Senate President and National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has raised a high-stakes alarm over what he describes as a calculated attempt by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to dismantle multi-party democracy and impose a one-party system on Nigeria. Speaking at the National Opposition Summit held at the Banquet Hall of the Oyo State Government House in Agodi, Ibadan, on Saturday, April 25, 2026, Mark declared that the threat to Nigeria’s democratic plurality is no longer a rumour but a deliberate agenda.
He asserted that the APC has spent the last three years systematically working to weaken opposition voices, vowing that the move to consolidate absolute power would be resisted. “The move to turn Nigeria into a one-party country is real. But it will not happen,” Mark told the gathering of opposition leaders. “This contest is no longer just between political parties; it is a contest between the APC and the people of Nigeria. The opposition stands firmly on the side of the people.”
The ADC national chairman stated that in the last three years, the government has launched major attacks on opposition parties, all in a bid to deny Nigerians the right to freely choose their leaders. “They want to foist a one-party state on Nigeria,” Mark said. He lamented that institutions meant to safeguard democracy are increasingly compromised. “Institutions that should safeguard our freedom and protect the will of the people are increasingly under assault. The right of citizens to freely choose their leaders is being undermined.
The independence of democratic institutions is being compromised. In fact, it is becoming increasingly difficult to describe what we have today as a fully functioning democracy in both form and substance,” he added. Mark noted that the increasing pressure on opposition parties in the past three years is a strategy by the ruling party to retain power at all costs. He argued that no single opposition political party, no matter how strong, can confront a system so entrenched and so determined to retain power at all costs. “What we are faced with is a regime that has shown, in both words and in deeds, a willingness to weaken democratic structures and suppress opposition voices. Let’s not make a mistake about this. The move towards a one-party state is real. It has never happened before in this country, and it will not happen in our generation,” he warned.
Mark also used the platform to criticise the recent reshuffling of the federal cabinet, describing the move as a desperate attempt to fix a sinking ship. He argued that the timing of the changes serves as a silent confession of incompetence by the presidency. “Rejigging the cabinet at this time is an admission of failure. You don’t change a winning team; you only scramble for new hands when things aren’t working,” Mark said.
He characterised the ruling party’s tenure as a record of failure, suggesting that administrative tweaks cannot mask deep-seated governance issues. Turning his sights on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the former Senate President expressed grave concerns over the credibility of upcoming polls, cautioning that the electoral body appeared poised to preside over kangaroo elections designed to favour the status quo. He claimed that Nigerians have lost confidence in INEC, stating that the commission is no longer an impartial umpire. “If nothing changes, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan is about to preside over the most distrusted election in Nigerian history,” he said.
Mark urged opposition parties to prioritise unity and coalition-building over personal ambition, stressing that no single party can effectively challenge what he described as a highly entrenched political system. “Let it be said loud and clear that at a defining moment in our history, when Nigeria stood at the edge of uncertainty, we did not falter. We did not allow personal ambition to override the desire of Nigerians for a better life.
We did not collapse under the temptation of petty partisanship or self-satisfying ambitions. Instead, we chose unity over division, sacrifice over self, and country above all,” he said. The summit, hosted by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also witnessed the agreement by ADC and a section of the PDP to field a single presidential candidate for the 2027 elections, a move aimed at dislodging the ruling APC. The opposition parties also demanded the resignation of INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan, accusing him of bias in favour of the APC, and called for an extension of the deadline for party primaries to the end of July 2026.
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