The faction of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, under the leadership of Bala Gombe, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to promptly remove the National Working Committee, NWC, led by David Mark from its official portal. 

Gombe pointed out that a court ruling required the electoral commission to withdraw its recognition of the NWC headed by David Mark and declare all decisions, resolutions, and actions made by that committee as null and void.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Gombe stressed that INEC should only publish and recognize what he termed the legitimate National Working Committee of the party, in line with the court’s ruling.

The faction also warned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar against positioning himself as the ADC’s presidential candidate for the forthcoming 2027 general election.

In his statement, he said, “The rightful leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), led by Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, formally requests the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately remove the names of Senator David Mark and his NWC members from the Commission’s portal.

“INEC is also urged to upload and recognize exclusively the authentic members of the National Working Committee of the ADC, in strict compliance with the court’s ruling. This ruling directed INEC to withdraw recognition from the David Mark-led NWC and further invalidated all decisions, resolutions, and actions taken by that Committee.

“Moreover, the leadership of the African Democratic Congress formally and unequivocally warns Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to immediately refrain from presenting himself as the ADC’s Presidential Candidate. We reiterate our earlier position that His Excellency, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is neither the current nor has he ever been the Presidential Candidate of the ADC for the 2027 General Elections.

“We call upon Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to promptly cease using the Party’s name, logo, and emblem to spread falsehoods and misinformation regarding the African Democratic Congress.

“Additionally, we provide him with a 7-day ultimatum to publicly apologize to the members and stakeholders of the ADC for making unauthorized statements on behalf of the Party. Should he fail to comply with this demand within the specified timeframe, we will pursue appropriate legal action.

“Furthermore, we wish to bring to the attention of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and the Director General of the Department of State Services, DSS, the actions of Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi.

“We urge the pertinent security agencies to ensure his immediate arrest and prosecution for the dissemination of false information that could mislead the public and incite public unrest, thereby jeopardizing the relative peace we currently enjoy.”

The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Kebbi State has received more than 10,000 defectors from the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, including several local government party chairmen and political stakeholders.

The defectors were formally received on Tuesday at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi by Governor Nasir Idris, who assured them of equal treatment and full integration into the ruling party.

Addressing the gathering, the governor described the APC as a party open to all and urged the new members to work with existing party leaders to strengthen the party ahead of future elections.

The governor further called on APC leaders across the state to embrace the new members and ensure their full participation in party activities.

Speaking on behalf of supporters of ADC chieftain Senator Garba Musa Maidoki, Bello Doya said the group decided to join the APC to support the developmental programmes of the Idris administration, which he described as transparent and people-oriented.

In a related development, the Chairman of the PDP Local Government Chairmen’s Association in Kebbi State also defected to the APC alongside other party officials.

Responding on behalf of the PDP defectors, the Chairman of Bunza Local Government Area, Bello Manti, said they were motivated by the governor’s performance and inclusive style of leadership.

Among the prominent defectors were the PDP chairmen of Dandi, Koko/Besse, Arewa, Zuru, Ngaski, Yauri, Shanga, Danko-Wasagu, Sakaba and Aliero local government areas.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgement in the appeals seeking to set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deregister the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and four other political parties.

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, on Tuesday reserved judgement to a date to be communicated to the parties after they adopted their respective briefs of argument.

Apart from the ADC, the other political parties challenging the Federal High Court’s judgement delivered by Justice Peter Odo Lifu are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

The Court of Appeal had, on June 16, granted a stay of execution of the High Court’s judgement and took a swipe at Justice Lifu for refusing to stay proceedings in the matter as ordered by the appellate court, despite its higher position in the judicial hierarchy.

The appellate court held that Justice Lifu ignored its earlier order of May 22 directing him to stay proceedings pending the determination of an interlocutory appeal against his ruling, despite being notified of the order.

The Court of Appeal described his conduct as “a form of judicial impertinence,” noting that the Supreme Court had previously held that such conduct amounts to “judicial rascality” and is unbecoming of a judicial officer.

Justice Lifu had ordered INEC to deregister the five political parties on the grounds that they failed to meet the constitutional requirements necessary to retain their registration.

The court also restrained INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them, or allowing them to participate in the 2027 general elections.

Justice Lifu further ordered the parties to stop presenting themselves as registered political parties, holding that the suit filed by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) had merit.

A body operating under the aegis of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) instituted the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, against the five political parties.

The NFFL, through its lawyer, Rabo Mohammed, argued before the High Court that INEC has a constitutional obligation under Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022, and the INEC Regulations to deregister political parties that fail to meet the prescribed electoral performance thresholds.

The plaintiff maintained that the affected parties failed to satisfy the constitutional benchmarks, including winning at least 25 per cent of the votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the federal, state, or local government level.

According to the NFFL, the ADC and the four other parties failed to meet these requirements in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, making their continued recognition by INEC unlawful.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who is also a defendant in the suit, supported the plaintiff’s position.

In his court filings, the AGF argued that allowing the parties to remain registered violates the provisions of the Constitution and undermines the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.

He further contended that INEC would continue to breach its constitutional obligations unless the court intervened.

However, dissatisfied with the Federal High Court’s decision, all the defendants, including INEC, appealed the judgement and urged the Court of Appeal to set it aside.

Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, supported by Justices Donatus Okorowo and Oyebisi Oyebola Oyewumi, after hearing the arguments of the respective lawyers, announced that a date for the delivery of the judgement would be communicated to all parties.