Senator David Mark, through his legal team led by Sulaiman Usman, SAN, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to reverse the Independent National Electoral Commission's decision to remove his name and that of Rauf Aregbesola from its official records. The suit, filed on April 7 and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, challenges INEC's action on April 1 to delete the names of Mark as National Chairman and Aregbesola as National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress. The legal application seeks a mandatory injunction to restore the party's leadership structure as it existed before the dispute. It also requests the court to bar INEC from altering or recognising competing claims to the party's leadership pending resolution of the case.
The motion cites the March 12 Court of Appeal judgment in a case initiated by Nafiu Gombe, former deputy national chairman of the ADC, which ordered all parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum. Usman argued that INEC misinterpreted the ruling by removing the names, creating a leadership vacuum. He stated that as of September 2, 2025, when the suit was filed, Mark was the recognised national chairman and that the leadership structure had been validly constituted. The legal team emphasized that the electoral body's actions undermine the appellate court's directive and the integrity of ongoing litigation.
An accompanying application filed April 2 seeks an accelerated hearing, citing urgency and the adverse impact of leadership uncertainty on the party's operations.
David Mark's legal move against INEC exposes the fragile intersection between party politics and electoral regulation in Nigeria. That a former Senate President must sue to retain a party leadership title on a government portal reveals how deeply symbolic recognition has become in political survival. The core issue isn't just about names on a website — it's about which authority gets to define legitimacy when internal party disputes collide with state power.
The Court of Appeal's status quo order was meant to freeze conflict, not erase existing structures. Yet INEC's removal of Mark and Aregbesola suggests an overreach or, at minimum, a questionable reading of judicial intent. The fact that Nwosu had stepped down, clearing the path for Mark's ascension, undermines claims of contested legitimacy. This episode feeds into a broader pattern where INEC is drawn into intra-party battles, often emerging as a de facto arbiter despite lacking constitutional authority to settle internal party leadership.
For ordinary ADC members and supporters, the instability translates into eroded confidence in the party's direction. Without clear leadership recognition, fundraising, candidate selection, and voter mobilisation all stall. This benefits no one except rival parties waiting to capitalise on disarray.
This is not an isolated event. It mirrors similar tussles in the PDP, APC, and LP, where INEC's portal updates have preceded or influenced court outcomes. When administrative acts begin to shape political realities, the line between regulation and interference blurs.
