We Are Yet to Receive Court Judgment on ADC Leadership Crisis — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it is yet to receive the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by former Senate President David Mark.

The commission also dismissed reports that it had removed former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, from its online portal following the court ruling.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday.

Haruna said the commission had neither reviewed the judgment nor decided on the next course of action because it had not officially obtained the court document.

“I don’t know where that statement came from. Somebody just forwarded it to me. We haven’t received the judgment yet,” he said.

He explained that obtaining a certified copy of a court judgment could take several days, adding that the process usually takes about a week.

The clarification followed Thursday’s judgment by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which nullified the Mark-led ADC leadership and invalidated decisions taken by the disputed leadership, including the process that produced the party’s candidates for the 2027 general elections.

The case was instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, who challenged the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.

Following the ruling, the ADC rejected the judgment, announced plans to appeal and disclosed that it had applied for a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal.

The party also formally notified INEC of the legal steps and urged the commission to refrain from taking action that could affect its political activities while the matter remains before the courts.

INEC’s clarification comes amid conflicting claims about the status of the ADC leadership and its 2027 presidential ticket. The commission said it had not taken any decision on the matter.