Nigeria’s Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal filed by former Senate President David Mark over the leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The apex court fixed April 14 for the hearing of the appeal marked SC/CV/180/2026, involving Mark and other parties, including Nafiu Bala Gombe, the ADC, Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Ralph Nwosu.
Mark, who is contesting his removal as the party’s National Chairman, is seeking an order to stay the execution of the March 12 judgment of the Court of Appeal pending the determination of his appeal.
In a motion filed by his lawyer, Realwan Okpanachi, he also asked the court to restrain INEC from recognising any leadership other than himself and the current national officers of the party until the dispute is resolved.
The former Senate President further urged the court to halt any actions capable of altering the party’s leadership structure and to suspend proceedings in a related suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The dispute stems from a suit filed by Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, who challenged the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola as party leaders, alleging that their appointments violated the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
While the Federal High Court had earlier declined to stop the Mark-led leadership, the Court of Appeal subsequently ordered parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum—a ruling Gombe relied on to push for withdrawal of recognition.
Following that decision, INEC removed the names of Mark and Aregbesola from its official portal on April 1, escalating tensions within the party.
Mark later approached the Federal High Court seeking the restoration of their names, with that matter also scheduled for hearing on April 14. However, the Supreme Court proceedings are expected to take precedence in line with judicial hierarchy.
His legal team warned that failure to grant a stay of execution could allow the appellate court’s judgment to take effect, potentially rendering the appeal ineffective.
