INEC recognises Mark-led ADC, confirms submission of 471 candidates for 2027 elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reaffirmed its recognition of the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), confirming that the faction has already submitted candidates for 471 elective positions ahead of the 2027 general elections.

INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, said the electoral body granted the Mark-led leadership access to its candidate nomination portal following a Supreme Court judgment affirming its authority within the party.

According to Haruna, the recognised leadership has successfully uploaded candidates for the presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives elections, while the rival faction lacks the legal standing to make similar submissions.

“Based on the recent Supreme Court judgment affirming Senator David Mark’s leadership of the party, INEC granted his faction access to the nomination portal,” Haruna told Punch Newspaper.

He disclosed that the faction had submitted candidates for a total of 471 positions, comprising two presidential candidates, 109 senatorial candidates and 360 candidates for the House of Representatives.

Haruna stressed that the commission had not been directed by any court to accept submissions from the rival faction, which he said had already lost its appeal seeking recognition.

The clarification came amid renewed controversy within the opposition party following claims by a factional leader, Nafiu Bala, that he had gained access to INEC’s nomination portal and uploaded candidates on behalf of the ADC.

Reacting to the development, the ADC welcomed INEC’s clarification and called for an investigation into the alleged false claims.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party accused Bala of attempting to mislead the public and undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

The party said INEC had categorically denied granting Bala access to its restricted nomination platform and affirmed that only the Mark-led National Executive Committee was recognised by the commission.

According to the ADC, the issue has moved beyond internal party disagreements and now involves allegations of misinformation capable of misleading Nigerians.

“The commission has made it clear that the document circulated by Mr Nafiu Bala claiming he obtained access codes and uploaded candidates for the ADC is false,” the statement said.

The party argued that any claim of unauthorised access to INEC’s nomination portal is a serious matter that should attract the attention of security agencies.

It therefore urged the electoral commission and relevant law enforcement authorities to investigate and prosecute anyone found to have originated or promoted the alleged false claims.

Meanwhile, Haruna said INEC would reserve further comments on Monday’s Court of Appeal judgment concerning the ADC leadership dispute until it obtains and studies the Certified True Copy of the judgment.

“We need to examine the details of the judgment before taking any formal position,” he said.

The appellate court had affirmed an earlier Federal High Court ruling which held that the dissolution of ADC state executives by the Mark-led caretaker leadership violated provisions of the party’s constitution.

In a split decision delivered on Monday, the Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, which restrained INEC from recognising state congresses conducted by committees appointed by the caretaker leadership.

The case was instituted by seven aggrieved ADC state chairmen who challenged the dissolution of their executive committees and the appointment of caretaker committees to conduct congresses.

The trial court held that the dissolution was unconstitutional because the tenure of the affected state executives had not expired and that the authority to conduct congresses rested with the duly elected state leadership.

However, the ADC insisted that the appellate court judgment relates only to the conduct of ward, local government and state congresses and does not affect the validity of its primaries or the nomination of candidates for elective offices.

The party maintained that the candidates already submitted by the Mark-led leadership remain valid and that the court ruling has no bearing on the emergence of its candidates for the 2027 general elections.