The Independent National Electoral Commission has formally updated its official records to reinstate Senator David Mark as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, alongside other key members of the party’s National Working Committee, in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment delivered on Thursday.
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Checks on the INEC website on Thursday night confirmed that the leadership details for the ADC have now been restored, with Mark listed as Chairman and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, listed as National Secretary. Others re-listed on the commission’s portal include Dr. Mani Ahmad as National Treasurer, Akibu Dalhatu as National Financial Secretary, and Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor as the party’s National Legal Adviser.
The commission had earlier in April removed the names of Mark and members of his executive from its portal in compliance with a Court of Appeal directive, a move that triggered widespread protests from the Mark-led faction as well as several opposition figures who viewed the development as politically destabilising in the build-up to the 2027 general elections.
The development arose from a legal battle over the recognition of Mark as National Chairman and the leadership structure of the ADC, which had pitched two rival factions against each other in a protracted contest before the courts.
However, in a decisive ruling delivered on Thursday, the Supreme Court voided the Court of Appeal order that had triggered INEC’s derecognition of the Mark-led leadership. The apex court held that the directive to maintain the status quo ante bellum could not lawfully continue after the relevant proceedings had been determined, describing its sustenance as unnecessary and legally unsustainable.
The Supreme Court also allowed the appeal filed by the Mark-led faction and ordered that the substantive suit filed by aggrieved party chieftain, Nafiu Bala Gombe, at the Federal High Court should proceed expeditiously on its merits a directive that effectively returns the leadership contest to the trial court for determination on substantive grounds.
The swift restoration of the leadership names on the INEC portal is being celebrated by the Mark-led ADC as a major victory for due process and party stability, with stakeholders within the party describing the development as a vindication of their longstanding position that the earlier removal lacked proper legal foundation.
Nevertheless, while the Supreme Court has cleared the immediate legal obstacle that triggered INEC’s derecognition, the main suit challenging the validity of the leadership remains pending at the Federal High Court a reality that suggests the political and legal contest within the ADC is still far from over.
Meanwhile, in what appears to be a coordinated political response to the apex court’s verdict, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was on Thursday locked in a high-level meeting with key leaders and stakeholders of the African Democratic Congress at the residence of the National Chairman, Senator David Mark.
The strategic meeting, which came just hours after the Supreme Court judgment on the party leadership structure, brought together some of the most influential figures within the broader opposition coalition. Those in attendance included the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, ADC National Chairman, Senator David Mark, and several other party leaders.
Although the details of the deliberations are yet to emerge, the timing of the meeting coming on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decisive intervention and INEC’s swift compliance has fuelled speculation that the ADC leadership and its allies may be charting a new political roadmap aimed at consolidating the party’s structure ahead of the 2027 general elections.
With Mark and his executive now firmly back on the INEC portal, the broader ADC coalition appears poised to enter a critical phase of repositioning, even as the substantive leadership dispute continues to await final determination at the Federal High Court.
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