KEY POINTS
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Court nullifies Atiku’s ADC presidential ticket and removes David Mark-led leadership.
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INEC directed not to recognise the party’s 2027 candidates or disputed leadership decisions.
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ADC says it will appeal the ruling
The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential candidacy under the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and removed the party’s national leadership led by former Senate President David Mark.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Peter Lifu also invalidated the party’s nomination of candidates for the 2027 general elections, including those contesting governorship, Senate and House of Representatives seats.
The ruling followed a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman for the North-East, who challenged the process through which Mark and other members assumed control of the party.
The judgment could prevent the ADC from fielding candidates in the 2027 elections if it survives appeals. However, the party has indicated that it will challenge the decision in court.
Court Declares Mark-Led Leadership Illegal
Justice Lifu ruled that the Mark-led Caretaker Committee, which organised the party’s presidential primary that produced Atiku as its candidate, was not legally constituted.
The judge consequently removed the party’s national officers, including its National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, a former governor of Osun State. He also invalidated the actions taken by the leadership, including the nomination of candidates for the 2027 elections.
The court directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise decisions reached at the ADC’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting held on July 27, 2025, or subsequent actions arising from the meeting.
Gombe had argued that following the resignation of the party’s former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to assume leadership of the ADC.
He maintained that the emergence of Mark and his team violated the party’s constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act. He therefore asked the court to invalidate their decisions and prevent them from presenting themselves as the party’s legitimate leaders.
The court upheld his claims and granted the reliefs sought.
ADC Says It Will Appeal Judgement
Reacting to the ruling, Lukman Fagbemi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and lawyer to Gombe, said all actions taken by the Mark-led leadership from July 27, 2025, had been annulled.
Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Luka Haruna, said the judgment effectively left the ADC without candidates for any elective position in the 2027 general elections, from the presidency to state and federal legislative seats.
However, the party’s Welfare Secretary, Nkemakolam Ukandu, said the ADC would appeal the decision.
The judgment is expected to trigger another round of legal proceedings, potentially reaching the Supreme Court, which previously directed the Federal High Court to conclude the substantive case.
The Supreme Court had intervened in April after the leadership dispute stalled proceedings at the Federal High Court. It ordered the lower court to resume and conclude the case after setting aside an earlier Court of Appeal directive requiring parties to maintain the status quo.
How the ADC Leadership Crisis Began
The dispute emerged in 2025 following the entry of several prominent politicians into the ADC, which became a platform for opposition figures seeking to challenge President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections.
Among those who joined the party were Atiku, Mark, Aregbesola, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi. Several of the politicians had defected from the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The crisis intensified after Nwosu and other former party executives resigned, paving the way for the emergence of a new National Working Committee led by Mark on July 29, 2025.
Gombe subsequently approached the Federal High Court, arguing that the party’s constitution entitled him to take over its leadership following Nwosu’s resignation. He also challenged the legitimacy of the new leadership and its decisions.
During the legal battle, the Federal High Court initially directed all parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The Court of Appeal later upheld the status quo directive after dismissing an interlocutory appeal by the Mark-led faction. The dispute also prompted INEC to receive separate communications from both factions in March 2026.
On April 1, the electoral commission removed the names of Mark and Aregbesola from its website, saying it would not recognise either faction while the legal dispute remained unresolved.
Mark and his group subsequently approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision. On April 30, the apex court ordered the Federal High Court to conclude the case and set aside the appellate court’s status quo directive.
Thursday’s judgment now represents a major development in the prolonged dispute over the ADC’s leadership and its preparations for the 2027 general elections. Its immediate implications, however, remain subject to the outcome of the party’s planned appeal.
