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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has sparked a political storm after removing the names of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) from its official records.
The decision, announced on Wednesday by National Commissioner and Chairman of the Voter Information and Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, has drawn sharp reactions from opposition figures, including the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi.
INEC said its action was based on a court directive ordering all parties to maintain the status quo pending resolution of the legal dispute regarding the leadership of the ADC.
To explain the move, the commission cited conflicting legal communications from opposing factions within the party, each of which wanted official recognition.
According to INEC, “the letter from Suleiman Usman SAN & Co urges the commission not to recognize Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe as the acting National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress due to pending Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, while the letter from Summit Law Chambers, on the other hand, attaches an Original Copy of the Judgment of the Court of Appeal which has been legalized in Suit No. CA/ABJ/145/2026: Senator David Mark v Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe & Ors and asked the commission to uphold the decisions of the Court of Appeal, including: Suspending the recognition of Senators David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary of ADC respectively;
The election body also pointed to allegations from Summit Law Chambers that it previously engaged with Mark’s faction in violation of court orders, including inviting the group to meetings and monitoring its activities.
INEC however insisted that its decision followed the Court of Appeal decision delivered on March 12, 2026, which dismissed Mark’s interlocutory appeal and issued a preservation order.
Quoting the appeals court, the commission stated, “Finally, it is important to issue a preservation order to ensure that the subject matter of the dispute pending before the court does not give rise to prejudice, as the court has the inherent authority to control and regulate the trial process to ensure fairness.
“Case Number FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025 has been and is hereby given an accelerated trial considering the Election Time Table issued by the 4th Respondent.”
The court further ordered, “That the parties are hereby directed to maintain the status quo ante bellum and must refrain from taking any steps or doing any action that could give rise to a fait accompli in court or otherwise invalidate the trial process in court.”
As background, INEC traces this crisis to the leadership dispute that occurred following the emergence of a new National Working Committee headed by Mark following the NEC meeting in July 2025, which occurred after the previous leadership resigned.
The Commission noted that Nafiu Bala Gombe, then Deputy National Chairman, rejected the process and claimed leadership, triggering a lawsuit in the Federal High Court.
INEC explained that “ Nafiu Bala Gombe, who is the Deputy National Chairman, denied he ever resigned from the party and claimed that following the resignation of the party chairman, Mr Ralph Okey Nwosu, His Excellency Nafiu Bala Gombe, should automatically take over as party chairman.”
He then sought several court orders, including “An order restraining INEC from recognizing, dealing with or continuing to deal with the 2nd and 3rd Defendants as chairman and national secretary” and “an order directing INEC to recognize the Plaintiff as acting national chairman.”
After reviewing legal submissions, INEC said it decided at its March 31, 2026 meeting to maintain neutrality.
The Commission stated, “Maintaining the status quo ante bellum as directed by the High Court based on the facts and positions of the parties existing before September 2, 2026, when the case was filed by the plaintiff.
“That the commission will refrain from taking any steps or carrying out any actions that could give rise to a fait accompli in court or otherwise cancel the trial process in court.”
He added that they rejected Gombe’s request to take over interim control, stating, “The Commission refuses to accede to the Plaintiff’s Attorney’s request to allow His Excellency Nafiu Bala Gombe to take over the affairs of the ADC pending the resolution of the case.”
INEC subsequently announced the suspension of all dealings with party factions.
“The Commission will not accept any further communications or agreements with any party or group relating to party affairs and will not monitor any meeting, congress or convention held in the name of the African Democratic Congress by any group until the matter is decided by the Federal High Court, Abuja.”
It also confirmed the removal of the current leadership from its portal, stating, “As the names of the current members of the National Working Committee headed by Senator David Mark were uploaded on September 9, 2025, the said names will be removed from the INEC portal in accordance with the High Court order to maintain the status quo ante bellum.”
But the decision sparked fierce resistance.
Responding to the ADC, spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi rejected INEC’s interpretation of the court order, and insisted that the directive amounted to redressing the situation before the court process began.
“This is a clear violation of the position of the High Court because what the High Court will decide is that we have to maintain the status quo. And that means we have to go back to maintaining the status quo before any legal interpretation.
“This just shows one thing. We have to maintain the status quo before Nafiiu Gombe was brought to justice. And the status quo at that time was that David Mark was the leader. And that’s why INEC admitted it.
“So if they do otherwise now, it means they are giving in to pressure from the enemies of democracy represented by the APC government, and we will resist that by all legal means available.”
In an earlier statement, Abdullahi alleged a coordinated plan by the ruling All Progressives Congress to destabilize the ADC, and warned of planned protests aimed at forcing a change in leadership.
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The statement read in part, “Yesterday, we revealed a sinister plot hatched by agents of the ruling APC government to pressure INEC into taking illegal action to destabilize our party, following the historic move of HE Rabiu Kwankwaso to ADC.
“After hitting a wall with INEC, they have now changed tactics, but the aim remains the same. Information reaching us this morning is that a public protest is being planned for tomorrow, Thursday, April 2, in Abuja, sponsored by a notorious minister. “Their hope is that the protest will give oxygen to a case that is already suffocating in the courts due to the gravity of its illegality.
“The plan is simple: paid mobs, pretending to be aggrieved party members, will take to the streets demanding that David Mark Must Resign. This, they hope, will create public pressure on the INEC Chairman to magically step up and admit someone who resigned from office and was subsequently expelled from the ADC, into the position of National Chairman of a party he is no longer a member of.
“The plans of the ruling APC government to hijack the leadership of ADC, the only remaining opposition party in the country, are real. In fact, they have reached new levels of desperation in recent days.
“They’re not just afraid of our momentum. They’re also afraid of what will happen if Nigerians start paying attention and start believing that change is possible.”
Former ADC chairman, Ralph Nwosu, has dismissed the derecognition report as fake. “It’s fake news. I can’t say more than that,” he said.
From within the Obidient Movement, coordinator Yunusa Tanko described INEC’s actions as dangerous and politically motivated.
“This is absolutely absurd. Court cases that are still pending. When will they try the issue of a court case and make it a basis to say that they are not admitting anyone? This is bad. This is unacceptable. They have to be careful what they do. Frankly we will reject this.”
“However, as far as we are concerned, this issue will be discussed in the public domain for the Nigerian people. Nigeria will no longer be a country if this happens. Nigeria will face catastrophic consequences if INEC continues to use this as a pretext for making decisions that concern the people. This is completely unacceptable in any form, and the public rejects it.
“The APC government is behind this. Of course, because they have seen the level of mobilization of the African Democratic Congress in Kano, Kaduna and some other parts of the country. And they don’t really care if this thing is burned down. This is a disastrous position that they should not take,” he said.
The PDP also had its say, and its spokesperson accused the ruling party of systematically weakening the opposition’s platform.
“We have said in the statement that it is the APC government that is responsible for the internal crisis of the opposition political parties, and they will do everything possible to ensure that there is no credible opposition.
“The APC government is afraid of the resignation notices being given by Nigerians. They were originally from the Labor Party, then they moved to the PDP, and now they are in the ADC. They even switched to the Accord. Any platform that looks credible and tough, the APC people will come in and destroy it. This is why we say that we must all unite and think. If we need to boycott this election, then we will.”
He added, “I can say categorically that there is no opposition political party that the APC leadership and its president have not interfered with to the extent that they can use it to do what they want. This is the reason why the problems in these parties cannot be resolved. There is absolutely no doubt.
“This is a national tragedy and a challenge to democracy that must not be allowed to happen. It is sad that Nigerians are not getting what they should have, but we can guarantee that in the end, Nigerian society will progress.”
Meanwhile, factions allied to Gombe welcomed INEC’s stance and described it as legitimate and balanced.
Speaking through its Chief of Staff, Bala Sani, the group said, “Our position is very clear. All we want is for INEC to comply with the decision of the High Court. So, it is in our own interest, as the leadership of the ADC under the leadership of Nafiu Bala, that we try to commend INEC’s commitment to neutrality and impartiality by maintaining the status quo ante bellum, which is in line with what the High Court decided.
“We told the world that they came to hijack this party from us. We are the legacy party and party members. We built this party for more than 20 years before these people came in. And when they came in, they wanted to go after all of us. But we stood our ground and said, “No. That’s not how it works.
“So, the decision is a testament to INEC’s dedication in upholding the constitution and ensuring that the electoral process in the country is not disrupted. We thank civil society as they all came to INEC this morning to protest, thus drawing INEC’s attention to do the needful.”
