Nigeria’s political landscape faces heightened uncertainty as the Supreme Court of Nigeria on Wednesday reserved judgment in two high stakes leadership disputes involving the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
In the ADC matter, a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba adjourned for judgment after parties adopted their final written addresses in an appeal brought by former Senate President, David Mark. Mark, who heads a faction of the party, is challenging the March 12 ruling of the Court of Appeal, which directed all parties to maintain the status quo pending the resolution of the leadership tussle.
The former Senate President argued that the appellate court overstepped its jurisdiction, maintaining that the dispute is rooted in internal party affairs beyond judicial intervention. The suit was initiated by aggrieved members led by Nafiu Bala Gombe, who question the legitimacy of the Mark-led leadership.
Other respondents in the appeal include the ADC, its National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission, and former national chairman Ralph Nwosu. Mark is also seeking an order restraining INEC from recognising any leadership outside his faction pending the court’s final determination. In response, the opposing parties urged the apex court to dismiss the appeal, insisting the lower court acted within its powers.
The crisis has already drawn regulatory consequences, with INEC removing the names of rival leaders from its official portal and withholding recognition of any faction until the dispute is conclusively resolved.
In a parallel development, the apex court also reserved judgment in a separate appeal stemming from a leadership crisis within the PDP. A panel led by Justice Lawal Garba deferred its decision after hearing arguments from the faction led by Kabiru Tanimu Turaki.
The Turaki-led group is seeking to overturn the March 9 judgment of the Court of Appeal, which upheld earlier rulings nullifying the party’s 2025 national convention held in Ibadan. The faction argued before the apex court that the matter is an internal party issue and therefore not justiciable, maintaining that due process was followed in organising the convention.
However, lower courts had consistently ruled against the exercise. Judgments of the Federal High Court in Abuja, affirmed on appeal, barred the PDP from conducting the convention pending compliance with the Electoral Act and the 2022 Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties.
In one ruling, Justice James Omotosho invalidated the convention over the party’s failure to conduct valid state congresses as required by law and its constitution. In another, Justice Peter Lifu restrained the process until former Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, was allowed to participate in the national chairmanship race after being deemed unjustly excluded.
The suits were instituted by aggrieved party members, including executives from Imo, Abia, and the South-South zone, escalating the dispute into a protracted legal battle now awaiting final determination by the Supreme Court.
With judgments reserved in both cases, the decisions of the apex court are poised to significantly shape party leadership structures, redefine the limits of judicial intervention in internal party affairs, and influence the broader trajectory of Nigeria’s democratic process.
