…Bars INEC from recognising David Mark’s congresses, upholds existing ADC structures
By Franklin Adole
Fresh uncertainty has engulfed the 2027 presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar after the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld a Federal High Court judgment restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising state congresses conducted by the Senator David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The ruling, delivered on Monday in a split two-to-one decision, also affirmed that the party’s elected State Working Committees and State Executive Committees remain the only valid structures empowered under the ADC constitution to conduct state congresses.
The decision is widely seen as a major legal setback for the Mark-led leadership and could cast doubt on the validity of the processes that produced Atiku Abubakar and other aspirants seeking to contest the 2027 general elections on the ADC platform.
Justice Okon Abang, who delivered the lead judgment, held that there was no basis to overturn the April 29 judgment of the Federal High Court, which restrained INEC from recognising congresses organised by committees appointed by the caretaker leadership headed by Senator David Mark.
Justice Donatus Okorowo concurred with the majority judgment, while Justice Abba Mohammed dissented, arguing that the dispute was an internal affair of a political party over which the courts lacked jurisdiction.
The appellate court agreed with the lower court that the authority to organise state congresses rests exclusively with duly elected state executive committees and not with a caretaker national leadership.
The case arose from a suit instituted by aggrieved ADC members, including Don Norman Obinna, Johnny Tovie Derek, Obah C. Ehigiator, Hon. Olona Yinka, Dr. Charles Idowu Omideji, Samuel Pam Gyang, and Obianyo Patrick, who sued on behalf of the party’s state chairmen and state executive committees.
The plaintiffs challenged the decision of the David Mark-led caretaker committee to appoint committees to conduct state congresses, arguing that such actions violated both the party’s constitution and the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
In her earlier judgment, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that neither the Constitution nor the ADC constitution empowered the caretaker committee to constitute committees for the conduct of state congresses.
She ruled that the tenure of the elected state executive committees remained valid and subsisting until properly constituted congresses and a national convention were held in accordance with the party’s constitution.
The Court of Appeal affirmed those findings, holding that courts are entitled to intervene where constitutional or statutory breaches are alleged.
Justice Abang stated that once a dispute involves constitutional infractions, it ceases to be a mere internal affair of a political party and becomes justiciable.
The court further held that the congresses and subsequent national convention conducted by the Mark-led leadership were carried out in defiance of an existing court order issued on 14 April and were therefore nullities.
Consequently, the appellate court dismissed the appeal filed by the ADC and awarded N10 million in costs against the party.
The judgement raises fresh legal questions over the validity of nominations and candidacies that emerged from the congresses and conventions organised by the caretaker leadership, with political observers warning that prolonged litigation could complicate preparations for the 2027 elections as INEC’s timetable draws nearer.
Reacting to the judgement, the ADC, represented by its National Welfare Secretary, Nkem Ukandu, rejected the verdict and announced that it would immediately approach the Supreme Court in a final bid to overturn the rulings of the two lower courts.
The Supreme Court’s eventual decision is now expected to determine whether the David Mark-led leadership can lawfully conduct party affairs and whether aspirants, including Atiku Abubakar, can validly contest the 2027 elections on the ADC platform.