BY FRONTLINE REPORTERS

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is facing fresh political and legal challenges ahead of the 2027 general elections following a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja invalidating the resignation letter allegedly written by the party’s former Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala Gombe.

The ruling has further intensified the leadership crisis rocking the opposition party, coming days after the court nullified the emergence of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by former Senate President, Senator David Mark.

In a judgment delivered on November 5, 2026, Justice Peter Lifu declared that all actions and decisions taken by the Mark-led NWC since its emergence on July 29, 2025, were null and void.

The court’s decision also affected the process through which former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar emerged as the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, throwing the party’s presidential ticket and electoral preparations into uncertainty.

In the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment obtained by journalists on Wednesday, the court ordered that all actions taken by Mark, former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, and other members of the NWC they represented from July 29, 2025, be treated as having no legal effect.

Although Justice Lifu declined to declare Gombe the substantive National Chairman of the ADC, he directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise him as the only elected member of the party’s NWC whose four-year tenure remained valid.

The judge, however, clarified 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 substantive leader.

According to him, the invalidity of a leadership selection process and an individual’s entitlement to a particular office are two separate legal questions.

“I must, however, distinguish the invalidity of a process from the plaintiff’s claim to automatic succession,” the judge held.

He explained that although Gombe’s position as the only elected NWC member who had not resigned might entitle him to participate in supervising the party’s affairs, it did not automatically establish his right to occupy a specific national office.

The court further held that any declaration recognising Gombe as entitled to act as a national officer must be supported by the party’s constitution, relevant evidence and applicable laws.

Gombe had informed the court that he was elected Deputy National Chairman on October 12, 2022, for a four-year tenure scheduled to expire on October 11, 2026.

 

He maintained that he was the only elected member of the NWC who did not resign following the decision by former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, and other members of the party’s leadership to step down on July 24, 2025.

However, the judgment was delivered approximately three weeks after the expiration of his stated tenure.

Consequently, Justice Lifu restrained INEC from recognising or dealing with Mark, Aregbesola and other members of their NWC as national officers of the ADC. He also prohibited the two former officeholders from presenting themselves as national officers of the party and dismissed the defendants’ counterclaim.

The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, instituted by Gombe against the ADC, INEC, Mark, Aregbesola and Nwosu.

Gombe 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 subject to judicial intervention.

Rejecting that 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 demonstrated to satisfy the requirement for democratic elections under Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022.

ADC Rejects Judgment, Heads for Appeal

The ADC has rejected the court’s finding that Gombe’s purported resignation letter was fictitious or fabricated, insisting that he voluntarily relinquished his position.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, told journalists that the ADC possessed the original copy of the resignation letter bearing Gombe’s signature.

He accused the trial judge of disregarding evidence the party intended to present and disclosed that the party would challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.

Abdullahi maintained that the document was genuine and that INEC was already in possession of the resignation letter.

He said the question of whether the document was forged should be determined through the appropriate judicial process.

However, Justice Lifu ruled that the certification of a document did not, in itself, establish the authenticity of a disputed signature.

The judge explained that certification could establish that a document was a true copy of a record in the custody of the certifying authority, but it did not necessarily prove that the person named in it actually signed the document.

He said he compared the signature on the disputed letter, tendered as Exhibit ADC-1, with those on Gombe’s sworn statements and found material differences.

“I am not satisfied that Exhibit ADC-1 represents the genuine act of the plaintiff,” he ruled, adding that he rejected it as reliable evidence that Gombe voluntarily resigned as Deputy National Chairman.

Gombe had repeatedly denied authoring the letter, describing it as forged. In April 2026, he publicly disowned the document, insisting that the signature on it was not his.

The court’s rejection of the resignation letter weakened a central argument advanced by the Mark-led faction to establish that Gombe had relinquished his position before the party’s leadership transition.

Meanwhile, the ADC Presidential Campaign Council alleged that Gombe had previously acknowledged Mark as the party’s National Chairman during a National Executive Committee meeting.

The council’s representative, Kola Ologbondiyan, reportedly forwarded a video in which Gombe was said to have referred to Mark by that title.

Ologbondiyan questioned Gombe’s subsequent position, maintaining that the video contradicted his present stance.

INEC Awaits Certified Judgment

INEC has said it will not take any action on the judgment nullifying the ADC leadership until it obtains and studies the Certified True Copy.

The National Commissioner and Chairman of the Commission’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this during a webinar organised by the PUNCH Media Foundation.

He explained that the Commission needed to examine the judgment and obtain legal advice before determining its next course of action.

According to Haruna, INEC’s legal department would review the document and advise a committee chaired by a national commissioner, which would subsequently make recommendations to the Commission.

He said the Commission had commenced efforts to obtain the certified judgment but could not compel the court to release it immediately.

Haruna noted that obtaining a certified copy of a court judgment usually takes about a week, adding that the November 5 ruling had only recently been delivered.

He assured that INEC would commence its internal review as soon as the document became available.

The Commission’s position has further prolonged uncertainty surrounding the ADC’s leadership structure and preparations for the 2027 elections.

ADC Candidates Petition International Organisations

The leadership crisis has also triggered protests and petitions by ADC candidates, who have approached international organisations and diplomatic missions over the Federal High Court judgment.

The candidates, operating under the Forum of ADC Candidates in Nigeria, petitioned the United Nations, United States Embassy, British High Commission, European Union and Economic Community of West African States.

They expressed concern that the delay in releasing the Certified True Copy of the judgment was undermining their constitutional right to appeal.

In a petition signed on behalf of the forum by Audu Aliyu, the candidates urged the international organisations and diplomatic missions to encourage Nigerian authorities and relevant institutions to respect due process and avoid implementing the judgment before the party had exhausted its appeal rights.

The forum maintained that its disagreement with the judgment did not amount to a rejection of the judiciary, pledging to abide by the final decision of the highest court of competent jurisdiction.

The candidates alleged that their lawyers applied for the CTC immediately after the judgment was delivered on November 5 and paid the prescribed fees, but the document had yet to be released five days later.

They said repeated visits to the court registry had produced no satisfactory explanation for the delay, prompting them to petition the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho.

The candidates also expressed concern over alleged political pressure on INEC to implement the judgment before the determination of any appeal.

They stressed that they were not accusing any individual or institution of wrongdoing but insisted that the party should not be made to suffer the consequences of a judgment while being denied access to the document required to challenge it.

ADC Supporters Protest in Abuja

The controversy also prompted ADC members and supporters to stage a protest at the Federal High Court premises in Abuja, demanding the immediate release of the Certified True Copy.

The protesters, led by a former Acting Chairman of the ADC in the Federal Capital Territory, Yusuf Shehu Tijani, called on the National Judicial Council to intervene over the alleged delay.

Tijani described the judgment as a sham and questioned why the certified copy had not been released to enable the party pursue its appeal.

He also argued that the Supreme Court had previously affirmed Mark’s leadership of the party, questioning the basis of the Federal High Court’s latest decision.

The protesters maintained that the party had a constitutional right to challenge the ruling but could not exercise that right without obtaining the certified judgment.

Copies of the petition were also reportedly sent to the President of the Court of Appeal, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the NJC, INEC Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja branch, and the Inspector-General of Police.

ADC Accuses Tinubu of Recycling Campaign Promises

Beyond the leadership dispute, the ADC Presidential Campaign Council has launched a fresh attack on President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing the All Progressives Congress of recycling unfulfilled campaign promises in its manifesto for the 2027 general elections.

The council described the APC manifesto, titled 2027–2031: From Reforms to Prosperity Agenda, unveiled in Jigawa State, as a repackaging of promises made during the 2023 presidential campaign.

In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the council argued that the manifesto offered no credible roadmap to economic prosperity.

It listed stable electricity, affordable food, a stronger naira, employment opportunities for young people and improved national security among the promises it said the Tinubu administration had yet to fulfil.

The council further argued that Nigerians had experienced rising food prices, economic hardship, currency depreciation and persistent insecurity since the administration assumed office in May 2023.

It also questioned the government’s management of public finances, particularly its borrowing levels following the removal of the petrol subsidy and introduction of additional taxes.

According to the council, the administration should explain how increased government revenues and accumulated loans had translated into infrastructure development and improved living conditions.

The ADC campaign council maintained that economic reforms without adequate social protection had imposed disproportionate hardship on ordinary Nigerians.

It also referred to comments attributed to the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, concerning the challenges associated with the administration’s economic reforms.

The council recalled Tinubu’s 2023 campaign commitments on food security, employment, electricity, infrastructure, refinery operations and the proposed Akwa Ibom Deep Seaport, arguing that significant gaps remained between those promises and present realities.

It urged Nigerians to demand measurable performance and accountability rather than rely solely on campaign manifestos.

ADC Raises Allegations Over APC Political Inducements

In another statement signed by its Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the ADC Presidential Campaign Council criticised alleged distributions of food, cash and other gifts at APC political events.

The council described the reported practice as an insult to Nigerians struggling with economic hardship and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and INEC to investigate the incidents.

It alleged that some APC operatives had increasingly resorted to distributing money and gifts at political gatherings to create an impression of popular support for the Tinubu administration ahead of the 2027 elections.

Among the incidents it cited were reports of luxury vehicles allegedly presented to APC women leaders, cash and cooked food reportedly distributed by the President’s son through the City Boy Movement, and videos purportedly showing an APC women leader sharing money and fabrics at a political gathering.

The allegations have yet to be independently established in the material reviewed.

Political Future Remains Uncertain

With the Federal High Court judgment affecting the ADC’s leadership structure and decisions taken by the Mark-led NWC, the party faces further legal and organisational challenges ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The ADC’s planned appeal, INEC’s eventual interpretation of the judgment and the response of the rival factions will be central to determining the party’s leadership and the status of candidates nominated through the disputed process.

For Atiku Abubakar, whose presidential ambition is tied to the party’s disputed nomination process, the unfolding legal battle has introduced another major uncertainty into his preparations for the 2027 presidential contest.

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