ADC chairmen demand Mark’s removal; threaten protest against INEC

The National Executive Committee Chairmen Forum of the African Democratic Congress has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove Senator David Mark and members of his dissolved Interim National Working Committee from its portal, threatening a nationwide protest if the commission fails to comply with a court judgment on the party’s leadership crisis.

The forum also demanded that INEC replace their names with those of Nafiu Bala Gombe and other party officials it considers legally recognised. It further urged the commission to reopen its portal to allow the ADC to conduct fresh primaries where necessary and upload its candidates for the 2027 general elections. The forum’s secretary, Kennedy Odion, made the demands while addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, a day after Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, nullified the Mark-led interim leadership of the party.

Odion said the judgment invalidated decisions taken by the dissolved leadership, including the nomination of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate and the emergence of other candidates through its congresses and national convention. He said the ruling affirmed the forum’s position that the interim leadership was not constitutionally recognised.

“We, the only legally recognised NEC members, accept in its entirety the judgment declaring our own Alhaji Nafiu Bala Gombe the authentic national chairman of the ADC. “Failure to comply with this latest judgment will leave us no option but to proceed with our planned nationwide protest against the electoral umpire. Nigeria is for all of us. No individual, however highly placed, is above the law,” he said.

Odion also argued that the judgment invalidated the candidacies of Atiku, his running mate, former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, and other politicians who emerged through the interim leadership’s processes. The ADC has been divided by a prolonged leadership dispute between the Mark-led interim national working committee and the faction led by Bala Gombe.

The crisis had earlier resulted in a Federal High Court judgment delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on April 29, 2026, which affirmed the tenure of elected state executive committees pending the conduct of valid congresses and a national convention. The court also restrained INEC from recognising congresses organised by the interim national working committee.

The Court of Appeal upheld the decision on June 13, 2026. Odion alleged that despite the earlier rulings, INEC continued to recognise the Mark-led leadership and accept candidates produced through its congresses and convention. He said the forum had pursued legal remedies rather than confrontation, adding that its restraint had prevented violence among aggrieved party members.

He commended the judiciary and expressed support for Bala Gombe, saying the new leadership would work to restore stability to the party.