The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that it will recognise only the candidates submitted by the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election. The commission disclosed this on Tuesday while explaining that the faction had already submitted candidates for 471 elective positions, including the presidential race.
INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, said the electoral body granted the David Mark-led leadership access to its candidate nomination portal after relying on an earlier Supreme Court judgment that recognised the faction. He explained that the group had already uploaded candidates for the presidential election, Senate and House of Representatives seats. Haruna also stated that the rival faction had no legal authority to submit candidates because it had already lost its appeal seeking recognition.
The clarification came amid the ongoing leadership crisis within the ADC, with rival factions laying claim to the party’s structure. Following INEC’s position, the party’s recognised leadership accused the Nafiu Bala faction of misleading the public by claiming it had access to the commission’s nomination portal.
The ADC, through its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, maintained that INEC had confirmed that the document circulated by the Bala faction regarding access to the nomination portal was false. The party argued that falsely claiming access to a restricted electoral platform was a serious matter and called for those responsible to be investigated and prosecuted in line with the law.
The party also insisted that the matter had moved beyond internal political disagreements because it involved an alleged attempt to deceive the public and misuse the commission’s nomination process.
Haruna also reacted to the Court of Appeal judgment delivered on Monday concerning the ADC leadership dispute. He explained that INEC would not make any decision on the ruling until it received and examined the Certified True Copy of the judgment. According to him, the commission would carefully study the decision before announcing its official position.
The appellate court had upheld an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court which restrained INEC from recognising state congresses conducted by committees appointed by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership. The case was filed by several aggrieved state chairmen who challenged their removal and argued that their tenure had not expired.
Although the Court of Appeal upheld the lower court’s decision on the party’s state congresses, the dispute has continued to fuel disagreements within the ADC. However, the party insisted that the judgment did not affect the validity of its direct primaries or the candidates already produced for elective offices.
The ADC maintained that the appeal court ruling was limited to issues relating to ward, local government and state congresses, adding that the emergence of its candidates through direct primaries remained valid under the law.
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