By Ayomide Otitoju
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced it will no longer accept correspondences from either faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by David Mark or Rafiu Bala, following a review of a recent Court of Appeal judgment.
In a statement signed by its Chairman of Information and Voter Education, Mohammed Kudu, the commission said it would also suspend engagement with both factions and refrain from monitoring any meetings, congresses, or conventions organised by the groups pending the determination of the case before the Federal High Court.
INEC further disclosed that it would remove the name of David Mark from its official portal as part of efforts to maintain neutrality.
The dispute stems from a leadership tussle within the ADC after Bala, a former vice chairman of the party, challenged the emergence of a caretaker committee led by Mark. Bala argued that he should have assumed leadership following the resignation of the party’s former national chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
The crisis deepened after the opposition coalition adopted the ADC as a platform to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections. Subsequently, Nwosu handed over the party’s membership structure to Mark and former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, who assumed interim leadership roles.
Bala later instituted a suit at the Federal High Court in September 2025, seeking to restrain Mark’s faction from parading itself as the party’s leadership. Although the case progressed through the courts, the Court of Appeal in Abuja on March 12, 2026, dismissed Mark’s appeal against an earlier ruling.
INEC said the judgment informed its decision to maintain the status quo ante bellum, effectively reverting to conditions that existed before the suit was filed on September 2, 2025, pending the final determination of the case.
