The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will wait for the certified true copy of a Federal High Court judgment before deciding how to handle the leadership dispute within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Titiansloaded reports that the commission said it would not rely on media reports or public interpretations of the ruling to determine its position on the party’s leadership and preparations for the 2027 general elections.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this in an interview with Sunday Punch, explaining that the commission must first examine the court’s official documents.
He said the matter would be discussed at the commission’s meeting next week, after which INEC would determine the appropriate steps to take.
Haruna also said the commission would comply with any subsequent court order if the faction led by former Senate President David Mark appeals the judgment and secures an order suspending its enforcement.
The clarification follows Thursday’s ruling by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which invalidated the process that produced the Mark-led caretaker committee of the ADC.
The judgment also nullified decisions taken under the committee, including the party’s presidential primary that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its candidate for the 2027 election.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, was filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman for the North-East.
Gombe challenged the emergence of Mark and other members of the caretaker committee, arguing that he was entitled to assume the party’s leadership following the resignation of its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
He asked the court to invalidate the committee’s decisions and stop Mark and former Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola from presenting themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary.
In upholding the suit, the court declared that the caretaker committee’s emergence violated the ADC constitution, relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Lifu also nullified Aregbesola’s appointment as National Secretary, the selection of other national officers and the party’s nominations for the 2027 elections.
The court further directed INEC not to recognise or act on decisions reached at the ADC’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting held on July 27, 2025.
