The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) has been thrown into fresh turmoil after a Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, November 5, 2026, nullified the party’s leadership under former Senate President David Mark and voided the 2027 presidential nomination of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. The ruling, delivered barely two months before the January 2027 general elections, also casts doubt over every candidate the party has presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The ADC and Atiku have both said they will challenge the judgment.
What the court decided
According to Premium Times and Pulse Nigeria, Justice Peter Lifu upheld a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former deputy national chairman (North-East) of the ADC. The defendants included the party, INEC, David Mark, the party’s national secretary Rauf Aregbesola, and former national chairman Ralph Nwosu.
Gombe argued that after Nwosu resigned as national chairman, he was the officer entitled to take over the leadership under the party’s constitution. He told the court that the caretaker committee headed by Mark had emerged in breach of the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act, and asked that all of its actions be set aside.
The judge granted his prayers. Premium Times reported that the court directed INEC not to recognise the decisions taken at the party’s National Executive Committee meeting of July 27, 2025, or any action that followed it, including the nomination of candidates for the 2027 elections. Mark and Aregbesola were also restrained from presenting themselves as the party’s chairman and secretary, Pulse reported.
Lawyers who spoke after the ruling, cited by Premium Times, said the effect was that the ADC’s actions since July 2025 now stand annulled, leaving the party without valid candidates unless the judgment is overturned. The court’s full written reasoning had not been made public as of Friday morning.
ADC and Atiku move to appeal
The party’s National Welfare Secretary, Nkemakolam Ukandu, told reporters that the ADC would appeal the decision, according to both Premium Times and Pulse. The party has insisted that Mark and Aregbesola remain its leaders.
Atiku has also rejected the judgment. Reports carried by allAfrica and Blueprint on Friday said the former Vice President has vowed to go to the Court of Appeal and will ask for a stay of execution, so that the ruling does not take effect while the appeal is heard. Under Nigerian law, a judgment remains in force until it is set aside or stayed by a higher court, which makes the stay application urgent for the party’s campaign.
A long-running leadership dispute
The case is the latest chapter in a dispute that has dogged the ADC since mid-2025, when a coalition of opposition heavyweights, including Atiku, Mark, Aregbesola, Rotimi Amaechi and Nasir El-Rufai, adopted the party as a platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027. A new national working committee led by Mark emerged in late July 2025 after Nwosu stepped down.
Gombe went to court soon afterwards. Premium Times recalls that the dispute has already travelled through the Court of Appeal, which in March 2026 ordered parties to maintain the status quo, and the Supreme Court, which in April set that order aside and directed the Federal High Court to conclude the substantive case. In the meantime INEC had briefly removed the names of Mark and Aregbesola from its website, saying it would not recognise either faction until the matter was resolved.
What it means for the 2027 race
Atiku, who has run for president several times, formally flagged off his ADC campaign in Sokoto on Wednesday, a day before the judgment. Amaechi is his running mate. The presidential election is scheduled for January 16, 2027, according to Pulse.
With so little time left, the speed of the appeal process is now critical. Premium Times notes that the case is likely to end at the Supreme Court, which would deliver the final word before polling day. If the judgment stands, the ADC, one of the main opposition platforms, could be left without a presidential candidate and without candidates for other offices.
What happens next
Attention now turns to the Court of Appeal and to INEC. The commission has not yet publicly said how it will treat the ADC’s candidate list in light of the ruling. Lawyers for the Mark-led leadership are expected to file their notice of appeal and a motion for a stay of execution in the coming days, while the Gombe camp is likely to press INEC to comply with the order. Flashinfong will follow developments.
Sources: Premium Times, Pulse Nigeria, TheCable, allAfrica, Blueprint.
