David Mark’s leadership legally established – ADC releases INEC affidavit, warns against one-party agenda – THISAGE

By Victor Osula, Abuja

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared that David Mark remains the national president of the party, following the release of an affidavit before the Federal High Court, Abuja by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), affirming his leadership.

Made public on Tuesday via the party’s X address, ADC Vanguard, the release of the affidavit comes amid ongoing disputes with a rival faction led by Nafiu Bala and underlines the legal legitimacy of Mark’s position.

The development comes after INEC, following a Court of Appeal order, had earlier withdrawn recognition of the Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC), temporarily removing the names of its leaders from its portal.

Dated September 12, 2025 and submitted in response to a subpoena filed by Nafiu Bala, the affidavit explicitly stated David Mark as the national president of the ADC.

According to Jacob Ayuba, Deputy Executive Director of INEC, the transition of leadership to Mark has been completed and cannot be reversed.

In the affidavit, Ayuba explained: “I know for a fact that an injunction cannot lie to stop an act being done. The plaintiff’s application is, in essence, an invitation to this Honorable Court to delve into matters of internal affairs of the first respondent as a political party. The jurisdiction of the Court in party affairs is limited to the case where his complaint concerns the conduct of its primaries, which is not the case of the plaintiff in this case.”

Ayuba also cited Supreme Court precedents, reinforcing that “a Court of Record should not deal with a political matter which remains the exclusive preserve of political parties, who should be allowed to do their thing.”

The ADC has since condemned INEC’s withdrawal of recognition of the Mark-led NWC. The party described the move as an attempt to undermine multi-party democracy and said it served a “one-party system agenda” to allegedly benefit the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu.

Reacting to INEC’s sudden U-turn, ADC Vanguard expressed concern over what it described as an attempt to advance a “one-party system agenda”, allegedly to the advantage of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu.

“It is now clear that Tinubu’s APC and INEC Chairman, Professor Amupitan, are using INEC to promote a one-party system in Nigeria. No democracy can survive where state institutions are transformed into political weapons against opposition parties,” the statement warned.

The party also called on Nigerians to protect the principles of democracy, stressing that “what is happening before our eyes is not just an attack on the ADC, but a dangerous attempt to undermine multi-party democracy and silence alternative political voices in Nigeria. Every patriotic citizen must understand the gravity of this moment. We call on all Nigerians to rise to the occasion and save our democracy.”

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