The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition have differed over the recent delisting of the Senator David Mark-led African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
While the APC described it as self-inflicted, the opposition ADC and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) cried foul, claiming it was a ploy to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 polls.
INEC, had while citing a court ruling, in a statement Wednesday said: “To maintain the status quo ante bellum as directed by the Court of Appeal based on the facts and position of the parties existing before 2nd September 2025, when the case was filed by the plaintiff.
“That the Commission would, in accordance with the Order of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/145/2026 refrain from taking any step or doing any act capable of foisting a fait accompli on the court or otherwise rendering nugatory the proceedings before the trial court, having regard to all the processes filed before the trial Court.
“The Commission refused to accede to the request of the Plaintiff’s Solicitors to allow Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe to take over the affairs of ADC pending the determination of the case.”
“Since the names of the current National Working Committee members led by Senator David Mark were uploaded on 9th September, 2025 by INEC (7 days after the suit was instituted), the names would be removed from the INEC portal pursuant to the order of the Court of Appeal to maintain the status quo ante bellum until the matter is decided by the trial court,” it further added.
…APC
In a statement Thursday, the APC said the development is “self-inflicted,” distancing itself from the deepening crisis within the opposition party.
Speaking during a television interview, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said: “As I’ve always maintained, we are only concerned about our level of preparation and the effort we are making. We’re concerned about ourselves. It is the opposition that is obsessed about what APC does.”
“Even the most recent development that everyone is talking about, the INEC decision to derecognise the David Mark executive, that was utterly self-inflicted. APC didn’t do that. APC did not orchestrate the hijack of the ADC by that executive, we didn’t…
“They did that, completely ignoring the rule of law, ignoring the constitution of the party they were putting themselves into… when you parachute into the party, you take over without reference to the constitutional stipulation… this is the consequence,” he stated.
“This was exactly made, manufactured by the same people who are complaining now and pointing fingers at the APC. We’re not concerned about all of that,” the ruling party further said.
…ADC
Condemning the INEC’s decision however, the Mark-led ADC demanded the immediate resignation of the Commission’s chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan and all the National Commissioners, saying the party no longer has confidence in their ability to conduct any credible election.
Addressing a world press conference in Abuja Thursday, Mark said: “We demand the immediate resignation or sack of the INEC Chairman, Professor Amupitan, and all the National Commissioners.”
He expressed dismay that by its action, INEC has succeeded in creating a situation that, by its own curious logic, leaves the ADC without leadership adding: “This certainly cannot be the status quo that the Court of Appeal directed should be preserved. It is an INEC invention that is not known to any Nigerian law.”
The party argued that it was not only ADC that was under attack but also Nigeria’s democracy which had been directly assaulted.
At the emergency press conference were a party chieftain, and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former governors, Rotimi Amaechi, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso, Chief John Oyegun, Abdulfattah Ahmed, Peter Obi, Liyel Imoke and Rauf Aregbesola.
Others are Dino Melaye, Kenneth Okonkwo, former minister, Solomon Dalung, and Aisha Yesufu, among other party stakeholders.
The party, while briefing the press expressed surprise that INEC issued a press statement after the close of business hours, announcing that it had decided to withdraw recognition for both the ADC leadership, saying the move created a false equivalence between the parties.
Mark lamented that by recognising Nafiu Bala as a faction, INEC he said, seems to have conveniently forgotten that the individual had resigned his position to the knowledge of INEC itself.
He spoke further: “The crux of the matter is the interpretation of what constitutes status quo ante bellum, which the Court of Appeal directed should be maintained.
“From all authoritative counsel at our disposal, there is no legal interpretation or precedent that could possibly lead to the outcome that INEC seeks to foist on our party.
“Based on its press statement of yesterday, INEC is pretending to be confused as to what constitutes the status quo ante bellum. If this was so, under the circumstances, what one would have expected was for INEC to approach the Court of Appeal to request a judicial interpretation of what truly represents the status quo under the circumstances.
“But it did not do this. While posturing to be neutral, its actions confirm that it has become irredeemably partisan, working, as it were, towards a preconceived agenda. With its action, this INEC has left no one in doubt that it has chosen the path of dishonour and has become complicit in undermining Nigeria’s democracy. It therefore can no longer be trusted.
“What we say in essence is this: INEC cannot choose to fix the status quo from the day it took the administrative action to upload the names of the new ADC officials on its website, because INEC does not have the power to determine for any political party who its leaders should be. That decision was taken on July 29th, not on September 9th. With its press release yesterday, INEC has invented a status quo that never existed, because there was no time that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) did not have a duly constituted leadership,” the party said.
“It is not ADC that is under attack. This is a direct assault on Nigeria’s democracy and the right of Nigerians to choose, participate, and exercise their rights as free citizens. We have witnessed how the APC-led Federal Government has undermined, compromised, and coerced other opposition political parties. The ADC has risen as the last bastion between Nigeria’s democracy and full-blown dictatorship. And this is what worries them,” he added.
“First, by attempting to subvert the leadership of the ADC, INEC has already undermined our participation in the Osun and Ekiti elections taking place later this year.
“Secondly, we have our congresses starting on the 9th of April, 2026, ending with our convention on the 14th April, 2026. We have given due notice to INEC, and they have acknowledged receipt of that notice. This is what the law requires of us.
“Let us sound a note of warning. This INEC under Professor Joash Amupitan will be held directly responsible for whatever actions or reactions that follow this criminal path that it has chosen to take.
“We demand the immediate resignation or sack of the INEC Chairman, Professor Amupitan, and all the National Commissioners. We no longer have confidence in them. We are convinced that they are incapable of conducting any credible election.
“Let us also make it clear: we are proceeding with our party programmes, because there is nothing under the law that makes INEC’s attendance, a mandatory requirement. We have duly served INEC notice, and we will proceed accordingly,” added the party leadership.
…PDP too
In a similar position, the PDP said there were clear orchestrations and manipulation against opposition political parties.
In a statement Thursday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the party said: “National institutions have now become the executioners of this ill-conceived plan. No institution is too sacred or too fragile to be deployed on this mission-the judiciary, INEC, the clergy, among others.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has further heightened the already tense political atmosphere through its latest press statement on the derecognition of the David Mark-led NWC of the African Democratic Congress, based on its interpretation of the judgment of the Court of Appeal and other pending cases before various courts.
“While we concede that, semantically, the same words and sentences can convey different meanings, it is troubling that INEC’s default interpretation of matters concerning political parties consistently appears to favour the much-perceived and prevailing notion of an uncontested election-effectively handing a colourful coronation to its appointor and the incumbent president. In such circumstances, ulterior motives cannot be discounted.
“We hereby passionately appeal to all national institutions, especially INEC, not to yield to partisan pressures or the influence of appointing authorities. They must place the interests of democracy and the country above all else. They should draw lessons from history and the conduct of their counterparts in past democratic republics, where many years later people are still battling to clear their names of acts done against the Nigerian people.”
