From Victor Osula, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared that David Mark remains the party’s National Chairman, following the release of an affidavit sworn before the Federal High Court in Abuja by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), affirming his leadership.
Made public on Tuesday via the party’s X handle, ADC Vanguard, the release of the affidavit comes amid ongoing disputes with a rival faction led by Nafiu Bala and underscores the legal legitimacy of Mark’s position.
The development comes after INEC, following an Appeal Court order, had earlier withdrawn recognition of the Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC), temporarily removing the names of its leaders from its portal.
Dated September 12, 2025, and submitted in response to an originating summons filed by Nafiu Bala, the affidavit explicitly affirmed David Mark as the National Chairman of ADC.
According to INEC’s Assistant Executive Officer, Jacob Ayuba, the transition of leadership to Mark was completed and cannot be reversed.
In the affidavit, Ayuba explained: “I know as a fact that an injunction cannot lie to stop a completed act. The Plaintiff’s application is in substance, an invitation to this Honourable Court to delve into issues of internal/domestic affairs of the 1st Defendant as a political party. The jurisdiction of the Court in party affairs is limited to where its complaint is about the conduct of its primaries, which is not the case of the Plaintiff in this instance.”
Ayuba further cited Supreme Court precedents, reinforcing that “a Court of record should not dabble into a political question which remains the exclusive preserve of political parties, which should be allowed to do their thing.”
The ADC has since condemned INEC’s withdrawal of recognition of the Mark-led NWC. The party described the move as an attempt to undermine multiparty democracy and alleged it served a “one-party system agenda” allegedly benefiting the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu.
Reacting to INEC’s sudden reversal, ADC Vanguard expressed concern over what it described as an attempt to advance a “one-party system agenda”, allegedly benefiting the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu.
“It is now crystal clear that Tinubu’s APC and the embattled INEC Chairman, Prof. Amupitan, are using INEC to push a one-party system in Nigeria. No democracy can survive where state institutions are turned into political weapons against opposition parties”, the statement warned.
The party further called on Nigerians to protect the principles of democracy, emphasising that “what is happening before our eyes is not just an attack on ADC, but a dangerous attempt to weaken multiparty democracy and silence alternative political voices in Nigeria. Every patriotic citizen must understand the seriousness of this moment. We call on all Nigerians to rise to the occasion and save our democracy.”
