A leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) took a new dimension on Saturday as rival factions took their battle to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

A group led by Nafiu Bala is seeking to assume control of the party and has asked INEC to withdraw recognition of former Senate President, David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as National Chairman and Secretary of the party.

Bala, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, maintained that he should have taken over leadership following the resignation of Ralph Nwosu.

His position gained renewed attention after the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal filed by Mark, ruling that it was procedurally incompetent because it was filed without the required leave.

Earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, had declined Bala’s request for an interim order to compel INEC to derecognise the current leadership. Instead, the court directed Mark and Aregbesola to respond to the application.

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Following the appellate court’s decision, Bala approached INEC through his lawyer, Robert Emukpoeruo (SAN), urging the commission to act in line with the ruling. The letter referenced the court’s directive:

“That the parties are hereby directed to maintain the status quo ante bellum and shall refrain from taking any step or doing any act capable of foisting a fait accompli on the court or otherwise rendering nugatory the proceedings before the trial court.”

Emukpoeruo argued that the ruling requires both preservation of the situation before the dispute and avoidance of any actions that could undermine the ongoing case. He also urged party members to remain calm and law-abiding.

In opposition, another senior lawyer, Dr Sulaimon Usman (SAN), advised INEC not to act on Bala’s request. In his letter, he stressed that the commission should maintain neutrality until the substantive case is decided:

“In the present circumstances, it would be consistent with the principles of constitutional order, judicial comity, and sound administrative prudence for the commission to refrain from recognising or acting upon any representation seeking to install or recognise any person as Acting National Chairman of the party pending the determination of the suit before the Federal High Court.

“This is particularly important given that the party presently operates under an existing leadership structure which emerged from the NEC meeting monitored by the Commission on July 29, 2025, and which remains the subsisting structure pending the determination of the court proceedings.”

Meanwhile, Abdullahi alleged that there was pressure from the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress (APC) on INEC to weaken the ADC ahead of the 2027 elections. He claimed the plan was to prevent the party from fielding a presidential candidate.

He said: “We have it on good authority that the INEC chairman is under serious pressure from the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress to stop the ADC, and they have mobilised most of his commissioners into the project.

“The plan is to ensure that all opposition leaders are locked down in the ADC and, at the last minute, announce its deregistration, thereby preventing opposition leaders from joining another party. We do not yet know how complicit the judiciary is in this plan.

“Tinubu does not want to run against anybody. He is afraid of contesting the election against individuals like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi and other credible opposition figures.”

The APC dismissed the allegations, describing them as unfounded and a distraction from the ADC’s internal crisis. The party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, said:

“The Presidency and the APC are not parties to the suit in court. It was David Mark who went to the Court of Appeal, and the court said that the status quo ante bellum should be respected.

“One expects that any law-abiding organisation would respect the order of the appellate court rather than making red herrings and wild allegations against the Presidency or any other political party. We do not have any business with their litigation.

“If you decide to take over a party structure without due process, is that the business of the President or the APC? If you go to court and present a case that is not meritorious, is that the problem of the President?”

He further advised the ADC to follow due legal process: “Even if they disagree with the decision of the Court of Appeal, they should go to the Supreme Court. But until it is set aside, the order of the Court of Appeal that the status quo ante bellum should be maintained subsists.

“Any respectable organisation like INEC cannot be gaslighted into disobeying the order of the Court of Appeal. This shows part of their irresponsibility, lack of understanding of how the legal process works, and the propensity to always make wild allegations without any facts.”