The Supreme Court handed the African Democratic Congress a lifeline yesterday, setting aside an order that had threatened to erase the party from next year's elections. In a unanimous judgment, the apex court said the Court of Appeal's directive to maintain the status quo in March 2026 was "unnecessary, unwarranted and improper".
The ADC's David Mark and his national executives had been removed from the Independent National Electoral Commission's portal as the party's recognised leaders. That removal, ordered after the lower court's ruling, would have prevented the ADC from fielding candidates in 2027. Justice Mohammed Garba, who led the bench, found that the appellate court had no right to issue any preservative order after striking out Mark's appeal as incompetent.
The same court also struck a blow at the Peoples Democratic Party. In a three-to-two split judgment, the Supreme Court nullified the Ibadan convention held in November that produced the Tanimu Turaki-led faction backed by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State. The majority held that the convention violated a valid court order restraining it.
The ADC welcomed the judgment yesterday. Party officials reiterated their call for the resignation of INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu, blaming the commission for the removal of Mark and his team from its website. The PDP's opposing faction called the verdict "a dangerous bend", with party chairman Uche Wabara insisting that he had assumed party leadership.
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, speaking in support of the judgment, said the verdict had ended what he called the "Turaki faction" and that Atiku Abubakar was a political liability. The split decision meant that while the Supreme Court resolved the ADC matter unanimously in Mark's favour, the PDP dispute saw the court divided on the convention's validity.
Justice Garba faulted the appellate court for raising the status quo issue on its own motion without being asked by either party. He said it was improper for any court to issue a preservative order in a case still pending at the trial court level. The ruling effectively restores the ADC's eligibility to contest elections and removes the immediate threat to its participation in 2027.
INEC is expected to restore David Mark and the ADC's national officers to its portal, reversing the earlier delisting. The PDP leadership crisis now moves back to lower courts for final determination, with the nullified Ibadan convention creating questions about which faction truly represents the party.
