Supreme Court reserves judgement in ADC leadership crisis

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved judgement in an appeal filed by the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), David Mark, against a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Nafiu Bala.

Justice Lawal Garba, who led the five-member panel of Justices, made the announcement shortly after lawyers representing parties in the appeal adopted their processes as brief of their arguments, for and against the appeal.

Justice Garba said the judgement would be delivered on a date to be communicated to all parties in the appeal.

Mark had asked the Supreme Court to grant an order staying the execution of the Court of Appeal’s ruling delivered on March 12 that dismissed his appeal in relation to the ongoing leadership dispute in the ADC.

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, had upheld the objection raised by Bala, insisting that the appeal was incompetent and that it was based on issues not reflected in the ruling of the trial court.

Mark had appealed a September 4, 2025, ruling by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja that refused to grant some injunctive reliefs contained in an ex-parte application filed by Bala.

Supreme Court reserves judgement in PDP leadership dispute

The leadership crisis rocking ADC had left the party without a recognised national leadership.

The dispute, which began as an internal transition disagreement in mid-2025, has now drawn in the courts and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), raising concerns over the ADC’s capacity to function as a viable opposition platform ahead of the 2027 general election.

INEC cited a subsisting Court of Appeal order to maintain the status quo ante bellum, saying it would not engage with any faction pending a final judicial determination, a position that could have far-reaching implications for the party’s participation in the 2027 general election.