INEC bows to Supreme Court, restores Mark’s ADC leadership

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reinstated David Mark as national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary, in compliance with a ruling of the Supreme Court. The commission also recognised other members of the party’s National Working Committee aligned with the Mark-led leadership.

The update became evident on Thursday evening when INEC reversed its earlier action and restored the Mark-led executive on its official portal. The electoral body had previously removed the leadership list, citing an appeal court judgement linked to the ongoing crisis within the ADC.

Both the Mark-led faction and Nafiu Bala, a former national vice-chairman of the party, have continued to assert claims to the party’s leadership amid the dispute.

READ ALSO: Supreme Court reinstates Mark’s ADC leadership, voids status quo order

On Thursday, however, the Supreme Court instructed Mark to return to the federal high court for the hearing and resolution of the substantive issues arising from the leadership tussle within the party.

In a unanimous decision delivered by a five-member panel led by Mohammed Garba, the apex court set aside the court of appeal’s directive that parties should maintain the status quo ante bellum, faulting the basis of that order.

Following the ruling, the ADC section on INEC’s website, which had earlier been taken down, now reflects the full list of party officials under Mark’s leadership.