A major legal setback has hit the African Democratic Congress (ADC) following a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja nullifying the leadership of the party under former Senate President David Mark and invalidating decisions taken by the disputed caretaker committee, including the nomination of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment on Thursday, November 5, 2026, after upholding a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman of the ADC for the North-East, who challenged the legitimacy of the process through which Mark and his associates assumed control of the party.
The ruling also affects the emergence of former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, as the party’s National Secretary, as well as other national officers and candidates nominated under the Mark-led leadership.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, listed the ADC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mark, Aregbesola and the party’s former National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, as defendants.
Gombe had argued that following Nwosu’s resignation, he was constitutionally entitled to assume the party’s leadership in his capacity as the former Deputy National Chairman. He maintained that the arrangement which brought Mark and Aregbesola into office violated the ADC constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
He consequently asked the court to declare the Mark-led caretaker committee illegal, invalidate all decisions taken under its authority and restrain Mark and Aregbesola from presenting themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively.
In upholding the plaintiff’s claims, Justice Lifu also directed INEC not to recognise or give effect to resolutions reached at the ADC’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting held on July 27, 2025.
Counsel to Gombe, Lukman Fagbemi (SAN), said the judgment invalidated actions taken by the party under the disputed leadership from July 27, 2025, onwards. Another lawyer to the plaintiff, Luka Musa Haruna (SAN), said the decision effectively left the ADC without validly nominated candidates for the 2027 elections across the various elective positions.
The immediate political implications are significant, particularly for Atiku, whose name had earlier been published by INEC as the ADC’s presidential candidate. The former Vice-President has also selected former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as his running mate.
The judgment comes barely a day after Atiku participated in a campaign rally in Sokoto State, underscoring the uncertainty now surrounding the party’s preparations for the presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027.
The ruling also reopens questions about the ADC’s leadership crisis, which had previously passed through the appellate courts. On April 30, 2026, the Supreme Court set aside an earlier Court of Appeal order in the dispute and returned the substantive case to the Federal High Court for determination. The apex court’s intervention allowed the proceedings to continue rather than finally resolving the underlying leadership question.
In a related development, a separate suit challenging the Mark-led leadership, filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide, was dismissed by the Federal High Court in July 2026. The different outcomes underline the legal complexity of the dispute and the possibility of further proceedings.
Reacting to Thursday’s judgment, the ADC National Welfare Secretary, Nkemakolam Ukandu, who was joined in the case as an interested party, said the party would challenge the decision at the appellate court.
The proposed appeal is expected to become a crucial part of the party’s next steps, although the judgment remains operative unless set aside or otherwise affected by a competent court.
The development presents a major test for the ADC, which has been positioning itself as a formidable opposition platform ahead of the 2027 elections. Beyond the fate of Atiku’s presidential ticket, the party must now confront questions about its leadership, the validity of its other nominations and its ability to resolve the internal dispute within the time available before the elections.
For Atiku and Amaechi, the immediate challenge is the legal uncertainty surrounding the platform on which they intend to contest. The eventual outcome of the appeal and any further proceedings will determine whether the ADC can retain its current electoral structure or must undertake fresh steps to secure its participation in the polls.
Leave a comment