The Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal Tuesday from Senator David Mark, the disputed national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who is fighting to halt a recent Court of Appeal ruling that upended his leadership.
The hearing, listed as SC/CV/180/2026 between Mark and rivals including Honourable Nafiu-Bala Gombe, arrives amid a fierce internal power struggle that has prompted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delist Mark and National Secretary Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola from its portal.
In a notice issued Friday via the court’s litigation department, justices scheduled oral arguments for April 14—a date that overlaps with a related Federal High Court proceeding before Justice Emeka Nwite.
Mark’s lawyers, led by Realwan Okpanachi, argue in a 12-ground motion that the Court of Appeal’s March 12 decision in CA/ABJ/CV/145/2026 wrongly affirmed Gombe’s challenge to the party’s leadership structure.
They seek a stay of execution, restraint on INEC from recognizing alternatives to Mark’s team, and a pause on Nwite’s suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025) until the apex court rules.
Without intervention, they warn, “the appeal will be rendered nugatory,” as Gombe has already leveraged the ruling to press INEC.
The dispute traces to Gombe, the party’s former deputy chairman, who sued in September 2025 alleging Mark’s ascent—following ex-chairman Chief Ralph Nwosu’s exit—violated ADC’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
Nwite denied Gombe’s initial bid for an injunction but ordered responses.
Mark’s faction then challenged jurisdiction at the Court of Appeal, which imposed a status quo order. Gombe’s side claims victory there, prompting INEC’s April 1 purge.
Mark countered last week with a new motion before Nwite, via counsel Sulaiman Usman, SAN, demanding restoration of names and an expedited hearing—also set for Tuesday. Sources say the high court may defer to the Supreme Court’s primacy.
The clash further indicates deepening fractures in Nigeria’s opposition parties ahead of elections, with Mark—a former Senate president—pitching his appeal under the 1999 Constitution and Supreme Court rules as raising “substantial and arguable issues” where “the balance of justice” favors preservation of the status quo.
