By| Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will examine the implications of a Federal High Court judgment invalidating the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
The commission said it would obtain and study the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment before determining its position, stressing that it would not rely on media reports or accounts of the court proceedings.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, disclosed this while speaking with journalists on Saturday, adding that the matter would be considered at the commission’s meeting next week.
Haruna said the commission must independently examine the court’s pronouncements before taking any decision.
“We can’t take a position until we see the judgment ourselves. We have to get the certified true copy because we don’t take decisions or reports of what the court said based on reports because the reports could be wrong,” he said.
He further explained that INEC would be bound by any subsequent judicial directive, including an injunction that might be issued by an appellate court following an appeal by the affected ADC leadership.
“Obviously, if the David Mark faction should appeal, which I am sure they will, and they get an injunction for the stay of execution, obviously, we’ll have to obey that judgment,” Haruna stated.
The development followed Thursday’s judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which nullified the emergence of the caretaker committee led by former Senate President David Mark.
The court ruled that the process through which the committee assumed control of the party violated the ADC constitution, relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, was instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman (North-East), who challenged the emergence of Mark and other members of the caretaker committee.
Gombe had argued that he was constitutionally entitled to assume the party’s leadership following the resignation of its former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
In its ruling, the court invalidated decisions taken under the Mark-led leadership, including the party’s presidential primary that produced Atiku as its flag bearer, the emergence of former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary, and other nominations for the 2027 elections.
The court also directed INEC not to recognise or act on decisions reached at the ADC’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting held on July 27, 2025.
However, the party has commenced legal moves to overturn the judgment, filing a notice of appeal and an application for stay of execution on November 6.
The ADC legal team, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Shaibu Enejoh Aruwa, also formally notified INEC of the appeal and application for stay pending the determination of the matter by the Court of Appeal.
Meanwhile, Atiku has maintained that the judgment would not deter him from contesting the 2027 presidential election.
INEC’s forthcoming deliberations, alongside the outcome of the ADC’s appeal, are expected to determine the immediate future of the party’s leadership structure and the validity of its electoral nominations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
