The National Executive Committee Chairmen Forum of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has threatened to stage a nationwide protest against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) if the commission fails to implement a Federal High Court judgment on the party’s leadership crisis.
The forum also called on INEC to remove former Senate President David Mark and members of his dissolved Interim National Working Committee from its portal and replace their names with those of Nafiu Bala Gombe and other officials it considers the party’s legally recognised leaders.
The forum’s Secretary, Kennedy Odion, made the demands while addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, November 6, 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 forum accepted the judgment, which recognised Bala Gombe as the authentic national chairman of the ADC, and urged INEC to give effect to the ruling.
“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,” Odion said.
He warned that the forum would proceed with its planned nationwide protest if INEC failed to comply with the judgment, adding that no individual was above the law.
The forum also asked INEC to reopen its candidate nomination portal to enable the party to conduct fresh primaries where necessary and submit candidates for the 2027 general elections.
Odion maintained that the court ruling affected the candidacies of Atiku, his running mate and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as well as other politicians who emerged through processes organised by the Mark-led interim leadership.
The ADC has been embroiled in a prolonged leadership dispute between the faction led by Mark and the group aligned with Bala Gombe. The disagreement has generated several court cases over the legitimacy of the party’s leadership and the processes through which its candidates emerged.
The forum’s position follows an earlier judgment delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court 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 of Appeal upheld that decision on June 13.
Meanwhile, the Mark-led faction has challenged Justice Lifu’s latest judgment. The ADC said on Friday that it had filed an appeal and applied for a stay of execution, urging INEC to suspend further action until the appeal is determined.
The competing positions leave the party’s leadership and preparations for the 2027 elections subject to further legal proceedings.
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