Former Lagos Commissioner installed as South West zonal chairman of coalition Party ADC

Former Lagos Commissioner installed as South West zonal chairman of coalition Party ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has formally installed former Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Alhaji Rahman Owokoniran, as its South West Zonal Chairman, dismissing claims of division within the party’s regional structure.

Owokoniran was officially sworn in alongside members of his zonal executive committee at a ceremony conducted under the authority of the party’s National Chairman, Senator David Mark.

Addressing reports suggesting internal crisis in the South West, ADC chieftain Mr Coker Onita, in a statement issued on Tuesday, described such claims as false and deliberately misleading.

“For clarity, Hon. (Alhaji) Rahman Akanni Owokoniran was today formally inaugurated and sworn in as the South West Zonal Chairman of the ADC by the Deputy National Chairman, Dr Bamidele Ajadi, who is the highest-ranking national officer in the region, with the full endorsement and authority of the National Chairman, Senator David Mark, and the national leadership of the party,” Onita said.

The party also rejected allegations that the South West leadership had been disowned by the national leadership, insisting that such reports were “entirely false, misleading, and deliberately intended to deceive.”

Onita further alleged that elements linked to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were behind attempts to sow discord within the ADC in the South West through misinformation, noting the party’s increasing visibility and acceptance in the region.

He also discredited a statement issued by a group identifying itself as the “ADC Lagos State Stakeholders Forum,” describing it as an “unknown and faceless entity” bent on undermining the party, and branding its members as “fifth columnists.”

“In a democratic party, anonymous allegations are acts of subversion, not accountability. Those claiming to represent ADC should identify themselves with their positions and mandates,” he stated.

While reaffirming the party’s openness to constructive engagement and lawful debate, Onita said the ADC would resist any attempt at infiltration or disinformation aimed at weakening its leadership.

The statement concluded by affirming the unity of the ADC and its commitment to offering Nigerians a credible political alternative, stressing that the South West leadership under Alhaji Rahman Owokoniran is legitimate, recognised and fully backed by the party’s national leadership