The National Executive Committee Chairmen Forum of the African Democratic Congress has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to delete Senator David Mark and members of his now-disbanded Interim National Working Committee from its online records, warning that it could stage protests across Nigeria if the ruling is not enforced.
Key takeaways
- The forum wants INEC to list Nafiu Bala Gombe and other officials it regards as the ADC’s lawful leadership.
- It has asked the electoral commission to reopen its portal for fresh party primaries and candidate submissions ahead of the 2027 elections.
- A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday invalidated the interim leadership headed by Mark.
- The group says the decision also undermines candidate selections made through congresses and a national convention held by the interim committee.
- Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi and other candidates are among those affected, the forum said.
Call for INEC action after court ruling
Kennedy Odion, secretary of the NEC Chairmen Forum, set out the demands in Abuja on Friday, one day after Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court ruled against the Mark-led interim party structure.
The forum said INEC should promptly remove the names of Mark and the dissolved committee from its portal and substitute them with Gombe and the officials it considers to be the legitimately constituted national leadership of the ADC.
It also called for the commission’s candidate-submission platform to be made available again, allowing the party to hold new primaries where required and file nominations for the 2027 general election.
Challenge to candidate nominations
Odion said the court verdict rendered void actions taken by the interim leadership, including the selection of Atiku as the ADC’s presidential candidate. He said the ruling also called into question candidates produced through party congresses and the national convention convened under the dissolved committee.
He argued that the judgment confirmed the forum’s position that the interim leadership had no basis in the ADC constitution.
“We, the only legally recognised NEC members, fully accept the judgment confirming Alhaji Nafiu Bala Gombe, who is one of us, as the genuine national chairman of the ADC,” Odion said.
He added that failure by INEC to act on the latest ruling would force the group to proceed with planned nationwide demonstrations against the electoral body. “Nigeria belongs to all of us. Nobody, regardless of status or influence, stands above the law,” he said.
Odion maintained that the judgment had implications for Atiku’s candidacy, that of his running mate, former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, and other politicians selected through processes conducted by the interim leadership.
