The National Executive Committee Chairmen Forum of the African Democratic Congress has threatened a nationwide protest against the Independent National Electoral Commission over its handling of the party’s leadership crisis.
The group asked INEC to remove the names of Senator David Mark and members of his dissolved Interim National Working Committee from its official portal.
It also demanded that the commission recognise Nafiu Bala Gombe and other officials as the party’s legitimate leaders, warning that failure to comply with a court judgment would trigger protests across the country.
The forum’s Secretary, Kennedy Odion, made the demands while addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday.
His comments came a day after Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the Mark-led interim leadership of the ADC.
Odion said the judgment vindicated the forum’s position that the interim leadership was not recognised by the party’s constitution.
He insisted that the court ruling affirmed Bala Gombe as the authentic national chairman of the party.
“We, the only legally recognised NEC members, accept in its entirety the judgement declaring our own Alhaji Nafiu Bala Gombe the authentic national chairman of the ADC,” he said.
The forum urged INEC to immediately update its portal by removing the names of Mark and other officials of the dissolved interim leadership and replacing them with those of Bala Gombe’s camp.
It also called on the electoral commission to reopen its portal to allow the party to conduct fresh primaries where necessary and submit its candidates for the 2027 general elections.
Odion argued that decisions taken by the dissolved interim leadership, including the conduct of congresses and the national convention, had been invalidated by the judgment.
He said the ruling also affected the emergence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate, his running mate and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as well as other candidates produced through the disputed processes.
The forum warned that INEC’s failure to implement the judgment would leave it with no option but to mobilise Nigerians for a nationwide protest.
“Failure to comply with this latest judgement will leave us no option but to proceed with our planned nationwide protest against the electoral umpire.
“Nigeria is for all of us. No individual, however highly placed, is above the law,” Odion added.
