“INEC Bent On Excluding ADC From The 2027 Polls”, Abdullahi Alleges

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has raised the alarm over what it described as a well scripted plot by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deny the party the chance of fielding candidates ahead of the 2027 polls.

It would be recalled that the electoral umpire had, on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, resolved to withdraw recognition for the Senator David Mark-led National Executive Committee NEC, as well as halting all  correspondences with it, thereby effectively shutting the party from all activities.

The INEC had cited a subsisting Court of Appeal judgment ordering the maintenance of the status quo,by parties in the internal and leadership disputes rocking the ADC ,as a major reason for its action.

However, the Mark-led leadership of the party has continued to accuse the Commission of deliberately misinterpreting the said Appallate court’s ruling to justify its orchestrated plot to castrate the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The action also has continued to elicit widespread and scathing criticisms from individuals, and groups both locally and Internationally, with not a few accusing the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, of being the unseen hand behind  INEC’s action.

In a statement on Monday April 6, 2026, the ADC national spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi  expressed deep shock and regret that the electoral body has deliberately laid down “administrative mines” with the sole aim of ensuring that the party does not pose a threat to the APC in the general elections .

The ADC expressed serious fears that INEC’s decision to halt communication, has the dangerous potential to effectively exclude the party from participating in the electoral process.

According to  Abdullahi, INEC’s resolve not to accept any further correspondences from the party pending the determination of a case before a Federal High Court Abuja ,is one sure way of shutting out the ADC .

It emphasized that the unsavoury development poses a serious threat to the party’s ability to meet the statutory electoral requirements as spelt out in the amended 2026 Electoral Act.

The ADC noted that a key aspect of the new Electoral Act is the requirement for a mandatory notice of 21days to the INEC before critical activities ,as well as provision for timelines for the submission of documents.

According to Abdullahi, INEC has already fixed May 10, 2026 as the dateline for political parties to submit all documents relevant to the 2027 polls.

However, the party expressed concern that it may not be able to meet the statutory timelines, going by the decision of INEC to halt all dealings with the party pending the outcome of the court case in Abuja.

“In simple terms, INEC is threatening that unless the courts deliver judgment on the ADC leadership issue before May 10, it will prevent the party from producing candidates”, the party stated.

The ADC emphasized that the situation has placed it in an “impossible position” with the creation of a pathway to artificial non-compliance, which may be used to justify its exclusion from the polls.

Relying on documentary evidence, the ADC regretted that the present posture of INEC is coming even when it had earlier recognized the Mark-led leadership having been part of the processes that ushered it in on July 29 , 2025.

According to Abdullahi,the INEC received a formal notice.of ADC’s National Executive Committee NEC meeting , deployed officials to monitor proceedings ,and subsequently updated its record to reflect the emergence of Senator David Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary.

Furthermore, the ADC referenced a sworn affidavit filed by the Commission at a Federal High Court in September 2025 affirming the completion of the party’s leadership transition process as well as recognizing same .

The party, therefore, expressed shock and disbelief that after partaking in, and affirming all the processes that brought the Mark- leadership in place, the INEC could turn round to adopt a contradictory position by suspending engagement with the party ,and at the same time enforcing strict compliance deadlines.

This is as it called on the Commission to resume acceptance of all lawful correspondences from the party ,and , uphold its constitutional responsibility of ensuring a level playing ground for political parties.