The internal crisis that had weakened major opposition parties in the country – Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) – yesterday made a dramatic appearance at the doorsteps of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ordered the removal of the names of the ADC National Working Committee (NWC) led by Senator David Mark from its official portal.
This is coming as a huge blow to the coalition-backed ADC nine months to the 2027 presidential election and at a time the main opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is witnessing a surge of high-profile defections to its fold, boosting ADC’s chances ahead of the general elections.
Giving a hint of what was to come, a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, had claimed that INEC might not recognise the ADC presidential candidate for next year’s election. In a long tweet on Wednesday, Fani-Kayode claimed the politicians in the ADC are blowing “hot air” and “granting meaningless interviews”. He, however, warned them to “get their house in order” or they might suffer the greatest humiliation in the history of Nigerian politics.
Fani-Kayode wrote: “They can blow as much hot air, enlist as many big names, engage in as many photo ops, appear on all the television stations for their shallow and meaningless interviews and peddle as much fake news as they like but judging from their internal wrangling and warring factions it is getting clearer by the day that the ADC may not even be in a position to field an INEC-recognised presidential candidate in the next election. Supporting or joining ADC may ultimately end up being an exercise in futility for those that insist on treading that thorny path.
“I appeal to them to get their house in order, bury their differences and stop taking each other to court so that they can produce a legitimate candidate that is recognised by INEC, who we can have the opportunity to beat the hell and nonsense out of in the 2027 presidential election. Winning will not be as much fun unless we give them a good beating in the field of battle. Whichever way, they should prepare for a mighty fall and the greatest humiliation in the history of Nigerian politics.”
Announcing this latest jolt yesterday in a statement, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said after removing the names of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola from its official portal as National Chairman and National Secretary of the ADC respectively, it would not also recognise Nafiu Bala Gombe, who is seeking to be declared national chairman through the courts, insisting that doing so would prejudice the matter before the court.
The commission said it is suspending all dealings with contending factions of the party, pending the determination of an ongoing suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja and will refrain from monitoring any conventions or congresses organised by groups aligned with the affected leaders.
INEC said its decision follows the Court of Appeal’s ruling in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/145/2026 involving Senator David Mark and Nafiu Bala Gombe, as well as a flurry of conflicting legal communications from both camps over the party’s leadership. INEC said it would maintain the “status quo ante bellum”, the situation as it existed before the suit was filed on September 2, 2025, in line with the appellate court’s preservatory orders aimed at protecting the integrity of the substantive case.
