Rival factions within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have escalated their leadership crisis to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with the Nafiu Bala-led camp making a fresh push to take control of the party.
Bala, in a formal letter to INEC, called for the removal of former Senate President David Mark and ex-Minister Rauf Aregbesola as the party’s National Chairman and Secretary, respectively.
The latest move follows the dismissal of an appeal filed by Mark against the ruling of Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a suit initiated by Bala challenging the ADC leadership structure.
Bala, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, has maintained that he is the rightful national chairman, arguing that he should have succeeded former chairman Ralph Nwosu after his resignation.
Earlier, on September 4, 2025, Justice Nwite dismissed an ex parte motion filed by Bala, which sought an order compelling INEC to withdraw recognition of Mark and Aregbesola as the party’s leaders. The court, however, directed both men to show cause why the relief sought should not be granted, effectively putting them on notice to respond.
Dissatisfied with the decision, Mark filed a notice of appeal on September 18, 2025, challenging the ruling on several grounds, including alleged lack of jurisdiction.
However, in a decisive ruling on Tuesday, the Court of Appeal struck out the appeal (CA/ABJ/145/2026), describing it as procedurally incompetent for being filed against an interlocutory decision without the required leave of court.
The appellate court, presided over by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, further ordered all parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit before the Federal High Court.
In the wake of the ruling, Bala has reportedly approached INEC, seeking official recognition as the National Chairman of the ADC.
Meanwhile, National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ajibola Basiru, faulted the ADC for making what he termed “wild claims” instead of resolving its internal disputes.
Basiru described as irresponsible allegations that the Presidency and the APC were pressuring INEC to deregister the ADC, stressing that neither party is involved in the ongoing litigation.
“The Presidency and the APC are not parties to the suit in court. It was David Mark who approached the Court of Appeal, and the court ruled that the status quo ante bellum should be maintained,” he said.
“One would expect any law-abiding organisation to respect the order of the court.”
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