Barely 24 hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recognised former Senate President David Mark and former Interior Minister Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a legal move to stop the electoral body’s action emerged yesterday.
Former ADC deputy national chairman Hon Nafiu Bala Gombe had filed an ex parte application in the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to stop INEC from recognising Mark and Aregbesola’s leadership of the party.
However, the ADC leadership has clarified that, contrary to misleading reports, the Federal High Court in Abuja did not issue any order restraining Mark and Aregbesola from acting as the party’s national chairman and national secretary.
ADC national publicity secretary Malam Bolaji Abdullahi said the court presided over by Hon. Justice Emeka Nwite, in its ruling on September 4, 2025 refused the ex-parte application filed by Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe and instead ordered that the defendants be put on notice to appear to show cause why the application should not be granted, and adjourned the matter to September 15, 2025.
Since former ADC national chairman Ralph Nwosu formally handed over the party’s leadership to the opposition coalition movement in July, some aggrieved members have rejected the move and refused to recognise the Mark-led leadership.
Dumebi Kachikwu, the party’s former presidential candidate, has repeatedly rejected the Mark-led group while Bala Gombe declared himself the party’s national chairman.
However, the Mark-led ADC revealed that Bala Gombe had resigned as ADC deputy national chairman and insisted that all processes leading to its party takeover were legitimate.
The dispute over the party’s leadership came to a definitive stand when INEC formally recognised Mark and Aregbesola on its official website.
ADC reacts to court injunction
ADC national spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi accused the opposing camp of resorting to fake news by claiming that the court has restrained INEC from recognising Mark and Aregbesola.
Describing them as political jobbers, Abdullahi said fake news has become their last resort of desperation.
“They had been disappointed by INEC’s decision to stand on the side of the Nigerians by acknowledging the party’s leadership change,” he said.
While urging the media and the public to beware of fake news and to verify information to avoid misleading Nigerians, the ADC spokesman said the court did not issue any order restraining Mark and Aregbesola from functioning as the ADC national chairman and secretary, respectively.
“Instead, the Honourable Court refused the ex parte application brought by Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe and directed that the matter proceed with due process.
“This goes to show that these agents of destabilisation will stop at nothing, including misrepresenting court rulings, in their desperate efforts to sow confusion and further undermine opposition parties.”
Aggrieved Members Welcome Court Action Against Mark, Aregbesola
Meanwhile, aggrieved members hailed the Federal High Court’s recent decision restraining Mark, Aregbesola, and others from parading themselves as the party’s national executive members.
They said the ruling validated its position on the legitimacy of its leadership and reaffirmed its determination to restore what it described as the “authentic glory” of the ADC.
Dr. Christopher O. Okechukwu, who said he is ADC’s director of media and public affairs, described the development as a victory for order within the party.
He said, “The Federal High Court’s order restraining Sen. David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, and others from parading themselves as National Executive members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has vindicated our position. We welcome this development and reaffirm our commitment to reclaiming and restoring the party.”
He extended an invitation to prominent political figures, including Mark, Aregbesola, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi, former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi, coalition members, and Nigerians at large to join the ADC.
Okechukwu urged party stakeholders to rally behind the leadership of Hon. Nafiu Bala as national chairman, stressing that unity was essential for repositioning the party.
According to him, plans are underway to roll out a seamless membership registration exercise, with membership cards and registers to be distributed nationwide.
Court Refuses To Stop Mark, Aregbesola From Assuming ADC Leadership
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has turned down a motion seeking to stop David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) pending the hearing of the substantive suit.
The court refused the three prayers sought in the ex parte motion filed by Mr Nafiu-Bala Gombe, a former deputy national chairman of the party, through his lawyer, Michael Agber.
The court asked the plaintiff in the suit to put all the defendants on notice to show cause why the motion should not be granted.
The judge then adjourned the matter until Sept. 15 for the defendants to show cause.
The former Senate President, David Mark, is the current national chairman of ADC, and the ex-Osun Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, is the party’s national secretary.
The plaintiff, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, had sued ADC, Sen. Mark, Aregbesola, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Chief Ralph Nwosu as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.
The plaintiff sought three reliefs in the ex parte motion dated and filed on September 2.
Gombe sought an interim injunction restraining the fourth defendant (INEC) from recognising the second (Mark) and third (Aregbesola) as the fifth defendant’s (ADC’s) national chairman and national secretary pending the hearing of the recognising and/or dealing with the second and third defendants.
ADC Chairmen kick against plot to subvert party structure in Owerri zone
The local government chairmen of the ADC in Owerri Zone have raised alarm over political actors’ attempts to hijack the party’s structure in the zone. State
They declared that any attempt to hijack and subvert the structure will be entirely resisted.
This was made known through a communiqué issued by the chairmen, who accused unnamed political actors of plotting to impose illegal leadership and undermine the ADC constitution, warning that such moves will be met with “decisive and lawful resistance.”
Seven LGA Chairmen jointly signed the statement: Dr. Oparaogu Jonathan (Owerri West), Hon. Prince Oscar Obinna (Ngor Okpala), Hon. Ohahu Charles (Owerri North), Dr. Nwagwuaji Fidelis (Aboh Mbaise), Chief Onuoha Augustine (Ezinihitte Mbaise), Engr. Uhuogbu Ferdinand (Mbaitoli), and Chief Akumonye Francis (Ikeduru).
Rejecting “brazen subversion,” the chairmen stressed that no fraudulent list concocted outside the party’s framework would be recognised.
They highlighted that the ADC constitution remains the supreme guide for all party activities, and any violation amounts to an assault on members’ collective will.
Reaffirming their legitimacy, the chairmen insisted they remain the only authentic leaders of the ADC in their LGAs.
“We hold our mandate directly from the people and shall not surrender it to impostors.”
…. Same in Lokoja
Similarly, a concerned group in the Kogi State chapter of the ADC has said that it will resist any forceful and unconstitutional takeover of the party structure in the state by people they referred to as strange interlopers.
In a communique read by Usman Lukman, the group particularly warned members of the coalition, who they said are seeking to forcefully take over the party in the state, to be guided by the party’s constitution and other relevant laws.
The group also alerted party members and supporters, security agencies, and the general public to what it described as a disturbing development that aimed to undermine the party’s peace, stability, and integrity.
The group noted that credible intelligence indicates that specific individuals, unknown to their structures and alien to their operations, are plotting to forcefully take over the leadership of the ADC in Kogi State.
“While the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees freedom of association, and while our party constitution equally provides avenues for legitimate membership, no individual or group has the right to unconstitutionally topple the leadership of our party.
“Let it be stated that the ADC is governed by its constitution, values, and democratic ethos. Those who recklessly destroyed the PDP cannot be allowed to invade our party and subject it to the same fate.
“The ADC in Kogi State was built painstakingly from the grassroots and nurtured with sacrifice, loyalty, and discipline. Any attempt to hijack it through unconstitutional means will be firmly resisted using every legal and constitutional instrument.
“To avoid doubt, we reaffirm our unflinching loyalty to Rt. Hon. Elder Leke Abejide, the undisputed leader of the African Democratic Congress in Kogi State. We do not recognise or associate with political opportunists and strange bedfellows who seek to crawl in through the window and destabilise our collective heritage.
“We therefore call on all security agencies in Kogi State to take urgent notice of this threat and act decisively to prevent any breakdown of law and order.
“ Our democracy thrives on order, respect for process, and adherence to the rule of law, not on desperate power grabs by faceless interlopers.:
They therefore advised security agencies in Kogi State not to honour, recognise, or provide security coverage for any meeting, gathering, or activity in the name of the ADC that does not emanate from the party leader, Rt Hon. Leke Abejide, or the constitutionally recognised state chairman of the ADC.
He declared that any such gathering by people he described as faceless interlopers, fake members, and impostors is illegal, illegitimate, and a calculated attempt to breach the peace and security of Kogi State.
