THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed former Senate President, David Mark, as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), citing a ruling by the Court of Appeal.
The decision was announced on Wednesday, April 1, after the commission said it reviewed the judgment in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/145/2026, which arose from a leadership dispute within the party.
INEC said it would also remove the names of members of the party’s National Working Committee led by Mark from its official portal, in compliance with the court’s directive to maintain the “status quo ante bellum,” the situation before the dispute began.
The commission explained that the decision meant it would no longer recognise Mark or his team as officials of the party pending the final determination of the case before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The dispute is between Mark and Nafiu Bala Gombe, who claimed he should lead the party as acting national chairman following the resignation of the previous leadership.
Gombe had approached the court to stop Mark’s group from parading themselves as party leaders and to compel INEC to recognise him instead.
However, INEC said it would not recognise either faction for now, adding that it would not accept communications from any of the groups or monitor any meetings, congresses, or conventions organised in the name of the ADC until the case is resolved.
The electoral body also declined Gombe’s request to take over the party’s leadership, insisting it would remain neutral while the matter is still before the court.
INEC noted that although Mark’s leadership emerged after a party meeting in July 2025 and was uploaded to its portal in September 2025, the Court of Appeal ruling requires a return to the status quo before the lawsuit was filed in September 2025.
“Since the names of the current National Working Committee members led by Senator David Mark were uploaded on 9th September, 2025 by INEC (7 days after the suit was instituted), the names would be removed from the INEC portal pursuant to the order of the Court of Appeal to maintain the status quo ante bellum until the matter is decided by the trial court,” the commission argued.
Dismissal of Mark’s appeal
The dispute dates back to July 2025, when a new National Working Committee led by Mark emerged after the resignation of the previous leadership.
However, Gombe, who was the party’s vice-national chairman, rejected the arrangement, insisting he did not resign and should have automatically assumed leadership in line with the party’s constitution
He subsequently filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking to stop Mark’s group from parading themselves as party leaders and to compel INEC to recognise him instead.
Mark’s camp challenged the case at the Court of Appeal, arguing that the lower court lacked jurisdiction, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal and upheld the continuation of the case at the Federal High Court.
Reacting to this on Wednesday, the electoral umpire said that it would be obeying the Court of Appeal ruling, which dismissed Mark’s appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court and ordered all parties to maintain the status quo to avoid undermining the ongoing case.
“Accordingly, in order to protect the integrity of the proceedings and the eventual determination of the substantive suit pending before the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025,” the commission wrote, adding that parties “are hereby directed to maintain the status quo ante bellum and shall refrain from taking any step or doing any act capable of foisting a fait accompli on the court or otherwise rendering nugatory the proceedings before the trial court.”
The commission urged all political actors to respect judicial processes and avoid actions that could disrupt preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The ICIR reports that the ADC has been widely seen as the only major opposition to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) which produced President Bola Tinubu in 2023.
Tinubu is currently gearing up to seek re-election, and many Nigerians believe the ADC is the only viable opposition to the APC, given that 32 of Nigeria’s 36 governors are currently in the APC.
Despite the influx of the Nigeria governors into the APC, prominent politicians, including former vice president Atiku Abubakar, former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, former secretary to the government of the federation, Babachir Lawal, former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankwanso, former minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation, Abubakar Malami, and former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi are among the leading figures in the ADC.
Meanwhile, there are concerns that the ADC may not participate in the 2027 polls should the case in court lingers and INEC refuses to change its position on not recognising any of the party’s leaders.
According to the INEC timetable, political parties are to conduct their primaries between April 23 and May 30, 2026.
The ADC’s failure to resolve its leadership crisis will mean that the APC goes to the poll without a major challenge, as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), once branded as Africa’s largest political party, has seen its membership depleted by mass defections and currently faces similar leadership crisis.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M