“Tinubu Must Go”: Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso Lead Thousands in OccupyINEC Protest After ADC Delisting

Thousands of people marched through Maitama, Abuja on Wednesday, and what started as a protest over INEC’s delisting of the David Mark-led ADC quickly became something else entirely.

“Tinubu Must Go” rang through the crowd. Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Rotimi Amaechi, Rauf Aregbesola, and David Mark led the procession from Maitama Roundabout to INEC headquarters. Dino Melaye, Aminu Tambuwal, and dozens of civil society groups fell in behind them.

Why they marched

INEC derecognised David Mark’s faction of the ADC last week. That decision gutted the party’s standing just as it was becoming the main opposition vehicle against Tinubu in 2027. ADC leaders called it partisan interference designed to hand the next election to the APC on a plate.

Mark’s faction has since filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, asking the court to reverse INEC’s decision. They also gave INEC a 72-hour ultimatum to reinstate the leadership.

It was never just about ADC

Wednesday’s march pulled in far more than party loyalists. People are angry about fuel creeping toward ₦2,000 per litre. About a poverty rate of 63%. About a sense that the space for dissent keeps shrinking. Placards at the protest demanded electoral fairness, accountability, and an independent INEC.

But the coalition has its own cracks. Some ADC state chairmen have broken ranks, backing a rival faction led by Chief Amupitan and supporting INEC’s delisting. The party’s internal fractures are showing even as it tries to present a united front.

ADC has its national convention scheduled for April 14. Whether that goes ahead under Mark’s leadership or INEC’s preferred faction will say a lot about what opposition politics looks like heading into 2027.

Sources: TheCable, Punch, Daily Post, Channels TV, Within Nigeria, Vanguard