Supreme Court to Decide David Mark’s ADC Fate Tuesday

The Supreme Court will hear an appeal on Tuesday from Senator David Mark, the embattled National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), as he fights to reclaim his leadership. Mark is seeking a stay of execution on a March 12 Court of Appeal judgment that effectively stripped him of his position. The apex court’s decision on April 14 will determine whether Mark and his executive team can continue to lead the party or if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was right to purge their names from its portal.

The legal battle pits Mark, a former Senate President, against Nafiu-Bala Gombe, a former deputy chairman of the party. Gombe alleges that the emergence of Mark and his secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, violated both the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act. While a lower court initially refused to stop Mark’s leadership, the Court of Appeal’s subsequent order to maintain the status quo ante bellum gave INEC the pretext to delist the current leadership. Mark now argues that Gombe is using that order to illegitimately enforce a judgment that is still under appeal.

Mark’s legal team, led by Realwan Okpanachi, is asking the Supreme Court to restrain INEC from recognising anyone else as the party’s head. They argue that unless the court intervenes, the appeal will be rendered “nugatory” and the leadership structure will be dismantled before the law has its final say. The motion also seeks to halt ongoing proceedings at the Federal High Court to avoid conflicting rulings across the judicial hierarchy.

The timing of this hearing is delicate for the ADC’s internal operations. The party recently held state congresses in defiance of INEC’s derecognition and has scheduled a national convention for May. If the Supreme Court refuses to stay the appellate judgment, those congresses and any future candidate selections could be declared a nullity. Mark’s lawyers insist that the balance of justice favours preserving the current leadership to prevent a total collapse of the party’s administrative structure.

This case highlights the recurring friction between party internal democracy and judicial oversight in Nigeria. Gombe’s suit claims that the transition from former chairman Ralph Nwosu to David Mark was legally flawed. However, the Mark faction views the litigation as an attempt by “opportunists” to derail the party’s momentum ahead of the general elections. The Supreme Court’s intervention is now the only barrier to a complete leadership vacuum.

Tuesday’s proceedings will likely overshadow a parallel hearing at the Federal High Court. Justice Emeka Nwite is expected to step down his own proceedings to allow the senior court to rule on the stay of execution. For the ADC, the outcome is existential. A win for Mark restores his authority and validates the party’s recent congresses; a loss confirms the derecognition and leaves the party in a state of legal limbo.