April 29, (THEWILL) — Anxiety has gripped the African Democratic Congress (ADC) ahead of Thursday’s judgement by the Supreme Court in the protracted leadership dispute threatening to deepen divisions within the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The apex court fixed Thursday, April 30, 2026, for judgement in the high-stakes legal battle involving the faction led by former Senate President, David Mark, and another faction linked to Nafiu Bala Gombe.
The judgement, scheduled for 2 p.m., is expected to be delivered by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Mohammed Garba.
The dispute, which has lingered for months, centres on the control and leadership structure of the ADC following internal political realignments and the influx of prominent opposition figures into the party ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
THEWILL earlier reported that the apex court had on Wednesday, April 22, reserved judgement in separate appeals challenging the leadership structures of the ADC and the Peoples Democratic Party, after hearing arguments and adopting final written submissions from parties.
Marked SC/CV/180/2026, the appeal was instituted by the party’s National Chairman, David Mark, who is contesting a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former deputy national chairman, over the legitimacy of the party’s leadership. Mark had through his counsel, Realwan Okpanachi, prayed the court to restrain INEC from altering the party’s leadership structure under him and to stay further proceedings in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025 before the Federal High Court.
The dispute dates back to September 2, 2025, when Bala approached the Federal High Court seeking to restrain INEC from recognising the Mark-led executive and to instead recognise him as acting national chairman. He maintained that he never resigned as national vice-chairman and was entitled to assume leadership following the exit of Nwosu. On September 4, 2025, the trial court, presided over by Emeka Nwite, directed the respondents, including INEC, to show cause why the application should not be granted.
Dissatisfied, Mark challenged the jurisdiction of the trial court, but on March 12, 2026, the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal as incompetent and unmeritorious, directing parties to return to the lower court while maintaining the status quo ante bellum. Following the appellate decision, INEC announced on April 1 that it would refrain from recognising either faction of the ADC led by Mark or Bala pending judicial clarity, effectively suspending engagement with both camps. In response, the Mark-led faction filed further processes seeking to compel INEC to restore its recognition and maintain the existing National Working Committee, while also raising a preliminary objection challenging Bala’s locus standi and the justiciability of the suit.
The announcement of date for the apex court ruling comes barely days after the David Mark-led faction formally petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, urging accelerated delivery of judgment over fears that prolonged delay could jeopardise the party’s political future.
In the petition filed through its counsel, S.E. Aruwa (SAN) & Co., the faction warned that continued delay in the judgement risked undermining the ADC’s constitutional right to participate in the 2027 general elections.
The lawyers argued that the unresolved leadership tussle had already created uncertainty over the party’s recognised leadership structure, especially after actions allegedly taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following an earlier Court of Appeal ruling.
According to the legal team, INEC, listed as the fourth respondent in the appeal, had allegedly begun acting on the appellate court decision by moving to withdraw recognition from the leadership headed by David Mark.
The counsel argued that the development effectively created a leadership vacuum within the party despite ADC remaining a duly registered political party.
The petition further stated that the crisis stemmed from Appeal No. CA/ABJ/145/2026, which sought to challenge the legitimacy of the current leadership structure within the opposition party.
The lawyers warned that failure by the Supreme Court to deliver judgement promptly could expose the ADC to exclusion from key electoral activities tied to preparations for the 2027 polls.
According to the petition, INEC had already released revised timelines and preparations for the next general elections, making the matter increasingly urgent.
“The ADC’s ability to comply with these statutory requirements to participate in the 2027 General Elections is wholly dependent on the timely delivery of the judgement”, the lawyers stated in the correspondence to the CJN.
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