morganable politics/elections
The judge explained that the invalidation of the process that produced Mark and Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, did not automatically make Gombe the party’s National Chairman.
KaNo—
The political future of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has been thrown into uncertainty following a Federal High Court judgment invalidating the leadership structure of the African Democratic Congress and nullifying decisions taken by its National Working Committee led by former Senate President, Senator David Mark.
The ruling has further deepened the leadership crisis rocking the opposition party ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the court declaring that all actions taken by the Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC) since its emergence in July 2025 were invalid.
The judgment, delivered on November 5 by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, also invalidated the resignation letter allegedly written by the party’s former Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala Gombe, which had been relied upon in the dispute over the party’s leadership.
The development has raised fresh questions about the legitimacy of the leadership under which Atiku emerged as the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
In the Certified True Copy of the judgment obtained by Punch Newspaper,the court ordered that all decisions taken by Mark, former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, and other members of the NWC they represented be declared null and void.
The judge held that the actions of the defendants as national officers of the party from July 29, 2025, when they emerged as leaders, lacked legal validity.
The judgment stated, “All actions, decisions, and steps taken by the 2nd (David Mark) and 3rd (Rauf Aregbesola) defendants and other members of the NWC they represent as national officers of the 1st defendant (ADC), from July 29, 2025, the date of their unlawful and illegal emergence as such officers, are null, void, and without effect.”
The ruling effectively invalidated decisions taken by the disputed leadership, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.
However, Justice Lifu declined to declare Gombe the substantive National Chairman of the ADC, despite recognising him as the only elected member of the party’s NWC whose four-year tenure remained valid.
The judge explained that the invalidation of the process that produced Mark and Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, did not automatically make Gombe the party’s National Chairman.
He maintained that the legality of the disputed leadership arrangement and Gombe’s claim to automatic succession were separate legal questions.
“I must, however, distinguish the invalidity of a process from the plaintiff’s claim to automatic succession,” the judge held.
According to him, Gombe’s argument that he was the only elected member of the NWC who had not resigned could provide grounds for him to supervise the affairs of the party but did not automatically establish his entitlement to a particular national office.
“The validity of the challenged process and the plaintiff’s entitlement to a particular office are related but separate questions,” he said.
Justice Lifu further stated that any declaration recognising Gombe as entitled to act in a national leadership position must be supported by the relevant provisions of the party’s constitution, evidence and applicable laws.
“Any relief declaring him entitled to act as a national officer must be supported by the applicable constitutional provisions and evidence, and subject to the internal working arrangements and decisions of the 1st Defendant and the provisions of applicable laws,” he added.
The court, however, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise Gombe as the only elected member of the party’s NWC whose four-year tenure remained valid.
Gombe had approached the court, arguing that he was elected Deputy National Chairman on October 12, 2022, for a four-year tenure scheduled to expire on October 11, 2026.
He told the court that he remained the only elected member of the NWC who had not resigned after the former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, and other members of the party’s leadership stepped down on July 24, 2025.
However, the judgment was delivered approximately three weeks after the expiration of Gombe’s tenure.
Justice Lifu consequently restrained INEC from recognising or dealing with Mark, Aregbesola and other members of the disputed NWC as national officers of the party.
He also restrained the two former officeholders from presenting themselves as national officers of the ADC and dismissed the defendants’ counterclaim.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, was instituted by Gombe against the ADC, INEC, Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu.
The plaintiff had challenged the emergence of the Mark-led leadership at the party’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting in July 2025, arguing that vacancies created by the resignation of the former leadership could only be filled through democratic elections.
The defendants had maintained that the dispute concerned the internal affairs of the party and was therefore not a matter for judicial intervention.
Rejecting the argument, Justice Lifu held that political parties were not exempt from complying with constitutional and statutory requirements.
He ruled that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola had not been shown to satisfy the requirement for democratic elections under Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.
ADC Rejects Judgement
Meanwhile, the ADC has rejected the court’s finding that Gombe’s purported resignation letter was fictitious or fabricated, insisting that the former Deputy National Chairman voluntarily resigned from his position.
The party said it possessed the original copy of the resignation letter, which it claimed was written and signed by Gombe.
Speaking with our correspondent, the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, faulted the judgment, accusing the trial judge of disregarding evidence the party intended to present in its defence.
Abdullahi said the party would challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal, insisting that the resignation letter was genuine.
“The High Court judge erred in his ruling because we have an original copy of the letter that was written and signed by Nafiu Bala in his own handwriting.
“But the judge ignored all this evidence that we wanted to present in the course of this, so we are going to appeal to the court.
“We will not talk more about this for now, but the judge erred when he said the document was forged. Nothing was forged, because if you claim that a letter or your signature was forged, the first thing you do is report it to the police.
“INEC is in possession of a letter that was written by Nafiu Bala resigning his appointment under his own signature. INEC has that letter, so to turn around and say it was forged is wrong,” he said.
The party’s position comes amid competing claims over the circumstances surrounding Gombe’s departure from the ADC leadership and the legitimacy of the party’s current leadership structure.
Meanwhile, the ADC Presidential Campaign Council has alleged that Gombe acknowledged Mark as the party’s National Chairman during a National Executive Committee meeting.
The allegation adds another dimension to the dispute, with the parties maintaining opposing positions on the circumstances surrounding the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.
With the ADC indicating its intention to appeal the judgment, the legal battle is expected to further shape the party’s leadership arrangements and preparations for the 2027 general elections.
For Atiku, who is seeking to contest the presidential election on the ADC platform, the ruling presents another challenge as the party struggles to resolve its internal leadership crisis.
