The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has formally appealed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to urgently facilitate the delivery of a Supreme Court judgment in a pending appeal over the party’s protracted leadership dispute.
In a letter dated April 28 and signed by its legal counsel, Shuaibu E. Aruwa (SAN), the faction aligned with former Senate President David Mark warned that any further delay could jeopardise the party’s participation in the 2027 general elections.
The appeal follows the conclusion of hearings at the Supreme Court on April 22, where a five-member panel led by Mohammed Garba reserved judgment without fixing a date.
ADC’s legal team, referencing Suit No. SC/CV/180/2026, stressed that the urgency of the matter is compounded by recent actions of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which reportedly de-recognised the party’s leadership based on an earlier lower court ruling.
According to the letter, the development has left the ADC without a formally recognised leadership structure at a critical period in the electoral cycle, even though the party remains a registered political entity.
“My Lord, this appeal was graciously heard expeditiously on April 22, 2026, and judgment was reserved to a date to be communicated. However, we are constrained to seek Your Lordship’s intervention to ensure that judgment is delivered timeously,” the letter stated.
The party warned that failure to secure a ruling within days could have far-reaching consequences, including exclusion from key electoral processes already underway.
INEC has fixed May 10, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to submit their membership registers, while party primaries are scheduled to run from April 23 to May 30, 2026. Presidential and National Assembly elections are slated for January 16, 2027, with governorship and state assembly polls to follow on February 6, 2027.
ADC’s lawyers argued that without a clear and recognised leadership, the party risks missing these critical timelines, thereby undermining its ability to field candidates.
“Without the delivery of judgment within the next three days, the ADC stands the grave and irreversible risk of being excluded from participating in the 2027 General Elections,” the letter warned.
The legal team further noted that such an outcome would disenfranchise millions of Nigerians who identify with the party, describing the situation as a threat to constitutional rights of political participation and association.
While acknowledging the heavy workload of the apex court, the ADC maintained that the peculiar urgency of the case demands swift judicial intervention.
“The entire political future of our client and the legitimate expectations of its members nationwide now hang in the balance,” the counsel added.