Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), has responded to the call by the African Democratic Congress, (ADC), for its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to resign immediately.
The ADC, through its national chairman, David Mark, had, during a World Press Conference in Abuja on Thursday, called for the sack or resignation of Amupitan, alleging partisan bias.
Mark declared that “We demand the immediate resignation or sack of the INEC Chairman, Professor Amupitan, and all the National Commissioners.
“We no longer have confidence in them. We are convinced that they are6 incapable of conducting any credible election.”
The development followed the decision of the commission to remove the name of the party’s leaders from its portal, a decision it described as obedience to a recent Court of Appeal judgment.
Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, in a statement, noted that the appointment, tenure, and removal of the chairman and national commissioners are strictly governed by Section 157 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The Commission explained that it recognises the right of stakeholders to express their views, but said it was imperative to clarify that INEC is a creation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Federal Government against indulging in acts capable of escalating the already precarious security situation in the country.
This is as the body rejected INEC’s planned voter revalidation exercise.
The apex socio-cultural organization of Northern Nigeria said that the country is already facing enough challenges in all fronts, warning against moves that could imperil national security ,and unity of the country.
The ACF warning is coming amidst the controversy and tension generated within the polity by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to withdraw recognition for the Senator David Mark-led National Executive Committee NEC of the opposition Coalition platform the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
The electoral umpire, citing a subsisting Court of Appeal order on the leadership tussle in the ADC on Wednesday April 1,2026 opted to maintain the status quo ante bellum by way of not recognizing both the Bala Nafiu Gombe and Mark leadership of the party.
But speaking in an interview with the Leadership, spokesperson for the ACF, Prof. A Muhammad-Baba, described the action of INEC as a recipe for a political crisis that could endanger the 2027 general elections,as well as national security.
The ACF spokesperson expressed serious concern that democracy in Nigeria is being threatened by those who could pass as its greatest beneficiaries.
“The only thing I can tell you is that it is very, very unfortunate (INEC’s withdrawal of recognition for David Mark-led NEC and Voter revalidation exercise) because it looks like those who are beneficiaries of democracy are now trying to destroy democracy in Nigeria.
“The path INEC is now taking in not just delisting ADC leadership, but in asking people to revalidate their permanent voters’ card are for me a landmine . We hope it is not a landmine .But it looks like a landmine.
” It looks like every step taken by INEC or the political authorities is putting the 2027 election in jeopardy.
“It is not too late, and we hope we call on the Government, we call on INEC, we call on all those concerned to retrace their steps ,and stand by the principles and tenets of democracy.
“Otherwise, all these things really portend a crisis. We have enough. We have enough problems with insecurity. We have enough problems with economic hardship.
“We don’t want to add political crisis that could seriously endanger national security. So we call on all to please retrace their steps” ACF stated .
According to the ACF, the proposed Voter revalidation exercise and the controversial delisting of the Mark-led ADC leadership are steps that are capable of not only undermining public confidence in the electoral process ,but also compromising the national security.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, deferred hearing on interim injunction to restrain Senator Ireti Kingibe from parading herself as a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The Court rejected the bid of the leaders of the ADC, in Wuse Ward of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), to bar Senator Ireti Kingibe from participating in all activities of the party following her alleged suspension from the party.
Justice Peter Lifu of ordered the ward leaders said to be loyal to the Minister of the ?FCT), Nyesom Wike, to put the senator on notice to appear in court to join issues with them on their grievances.
Justice Lifu in a ruling on Thursday held that discretion in such a request for prohibition from party activities and in political matters must be exercised judicially and judiciously.
The judge stated that justice would be met in the case of the plaintiffs only when the side of the defendant is heard on its merit, along with that of the plaintiffs.
Consequently, the judge ordered that Senator Ireti Kingibe should be served with all court processes by the plaintiffs to enable her become aware of the suit and to prepare her defense.
The judge fixed April 20, 2026, for the plaintiffs and the serving senator to appear before him for hearing of all applications in the matter.
Those who sued the senator in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/ CV/539/2026 are Okezuo Godfrey Anayo and Isaiah Ojonugwa Samuel, on behalf of themselves and ward members as plaintiffs. The senator is the sole defendant.
In their ex-parte application, Kingibe representing the FCT in the Senate was said to have been suspended on March 10, 2026 by her Wuse Ward executives, following allegations of anti-party activities and disregard of your cnstitution of the ADC.
In the ex- parte application filed on their behalf by Kolawole Olowookere, SAN, the aggrieved ADC members in Wuse Ward applied for an order of interim injunction restraining Kingibe from parading herself as a member of party, pending the hearing and determination of their motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
They also asked the judge to restrain the senator from performing any function, attending meetings or performing activities reserved for ADC members or representing the party in any activities.
Besides, the Ward Executive Committee had asked that she be restrained from further interfering with the administration of the ward, ward register and other activities.
The suit was predicated on five grounds among which are that Mrs Kingibe was placed on suspension due to anti-party activities, gross misconduct and confiscation of the ward statutory records.
They argued that the suspension followed due process as enshrined in the ADC constitution and ratified by the two thirds majority of the EXCO members.
They averred that despite the communication of the suspension to Kingibe, she has continued to hold parallel meetings, issue press statements as an ADC member, and using her security details to intimidate the executive committee.
“Her actions constitute flagrant disregard to the internal mechanism of the party,” the plaintiffs stated.
Meanwhile, a lawyer, Abubakar Marshall who claimed to be representing the senator, announced that he had filed a preliminary objection against the suit.
He added that it was served on M. S. Garba, who stood for the plaintiffs at Thursday’s proceedings.
Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, has expressed disgust over President Bola Tinubu’s visit to Plateau State.
Recall that President Tinubu on Thursday flew to Jos, Plateau State, to commiserate with the Government and people over the massacre of about 28 people on Palm Sunday in Rukuba.
However, his visit has been met with strong criticisms over its the handling.
To the shock of not a few people, the President stopped at the Jos Airport and had no time for the Community where the incident took place.
He addressed families of the victims at the Airport where he said he had only 10 minutes to spend because the Airport runway had no light.
The questions many people are asking are: Why did the President not go early enough so as to get to the community where the massacre took place? Why did he even go when he knew he had no time for the people?
They have described his being in a hurry as insensitive.
In a statement Thursday by Atiku’s spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, in response to the visit, Atiku dismissed Tinubu’s visit as another troubling indication of “a pattern of detachment from the suffering of Nigerians.”
The President, during the visit, said he felt the pain of residents and reassured them of measures to end terrorism in the country.
But Atiku said the events in Plateau State have again exposed a disturbing and unacceptable approach to national tragedy.
Atiku: “It is both shocking and deeply insensitive that several days after the gruesome killings of innocent citizens, the president’s so-called ‘on-the-spot assessment’ was reduced to a brief stop at the foot of his aircraft, never extending beyond the airport, never reaching the grieving communities, and never touching the pain of the victims.
“Even more troubling is the impression that this fleeting visit was hurriedly curtailed to allow the president to proceed to Lagos for the Easter holidays, a decision that reflects a deeply troubling prioritization in the face of national grief.
“While families continue to mourn those slaughtered on Palm Sunday, the President chose to convert what ought to have been a solemn visit into a political spectacle, meeting party loyalists in Jos under the thin guise of official engagement. This is not leadership; it is indifference dressed as protocol.
“This approach mirrors his earlier conduct in Benue State in June 2025, when a condolence visit over a deadly attack conspicuously avoided the epicenter in Yelwata, only to devolve into a political rally. The repetition of this pattern is no longer accidental; it is now a consistent and troubling habit.
“In Plateau, the President neither visited the bereaved families nor the injured receiving treatment in hospitals. He offered no concrete policy direction, no decisive security intervention, and no reassurance that such horrors would not recur. Instead, he staged a meet-and-greet within the confines of the airport, surrounded by politicians, traditional rulers, and party operatives, far removed from the anguish of the people.
“Even more disturbing is the government’s decision to transport grieving citizens from distant parts of Jos Municipal to the airport in Heipang near Barkin Ladi, merely to stage an appearance before the President. At a time when families are in deep mourning, such actions reduce genuine human tragedy to a choreographed spectacle—prioritizing optics over empathy and dignity. This is not only inappropriate; it is shameful.
“This conduct raises serious questions about the president’s sincerity and capacity to confront the escalating insecurity ravaging the nation. A leader who cannot stand with his people in their darkest hour cannot convincingly claim to be fighting for their safety.
“Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar reiterates that Nigerians are not asking for ceremonial appearances or fleeting sympathy visits. What they demand and deserve is a government that can secure lives and property. They do not need to see the President’s face; they need to feel the impact of his leadership.
“Until this administration moves beyond optics and embraces decisive, people-centered action, such visits will remain hollow exercises, detached from the very citizens they are meant to comfort.”
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has called for the immediate resignation of the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC Prof. Joash Amupitan.
In the alternative, the opposition Coalition platform urged the authorities to, without delay, sack Prof Amupitan, citing lack of confidence and trust in his ability to conduct credible, free and fair elections as a major reason.
The ADC position is coming against the backdrop of the controversial decision by the electoral umpire to de-recognise the Senator David Mark-led National Executive Committee NEC of the party.
The source reports that INEC, in a statement, issued on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, by its National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee Mohammed Kudu Haruna, cited a Court of Appeal judgment directing parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum in the party’s leadership tussle as a major reason for withdrawing its recognition of the Mark-led leadership.
But at a world press conference on Thursday April 2,2026 ,the ADC National Chairman Senator David Mark accused the Prof Amupitan-led INEC of wilfully misinterpreting the Court of Appeal judgment to serve predetermined purposes.
Senator Mark also vowed that the ADC will proceed with its Congresses and Convention scheduled for April April 9 and April 14 2026 respectively regardless of the position of INEC
This is as the party warned that the INEC under Amupitan will be held accountable for whatever actions or reactions that trail what he described as ” the criminal path that it has chosen to take” .
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan
The ADC while expressing its complete loss of confidence in the Amupitan-led INEC ,called on it supporters to remain , assuring that everything is under control.
TEXT OF THE WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY SENATOR DAVID MARK, CHAIRMAN OF THE AFRICAN DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS (ADC)
THIS ATTACK ON DEMOCRACY WILL NOT STAND
On behalf of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and lovers of democracy, I welcome you all to this world press conference.
Since 1999, Nigeria has been under democratic rule. After 27 years, we thought we could proudly celebrate the entrenchment of democracy, believing that the country’s dictatorial past has receded into history.
Our experience in the past three years or so since President Bola Tinubu came to power has however confirmed otherwise. Democracy is only sustained by the quality of freedom that it offers and guarantees, especially the freedom to choose, the freedom to participate, and the freedom to associate. These freedoms are so critical to democracy that without them, democracy dies.
Yet, in the past three years, we have witnessed a relentless assault on these very freedoms. The agenda is very clear, to create a situation where, in 2027, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerges as the only option left for the people, despite the widespread suffering and wanton killings going on across the country. The twin challenge of deepening poverty, and worsening security situation in the country did not just happen. They are direct consequences of the failure of this government. They know that Nigerians will not want this to continue. They know Nigerians will vote them out. This is why they would do anything to hang on to power by hook or crook.
Background to the Coalition
The coalition of opposition parties came about as a result of a collective search for democratic freedom and the desire to resist what was clearly a relentless assault on opposition political parties. The coalition leaders decided to come together under ADC to save multi-party democracy in Nigeria and rescue Nigeria from what was clearly an emerging dictatorship.
We did not come to the ADC by chance. We did our due diligence. We fulfilled all the party’s constitutional requirements, as well as all wider requirements under the laws that guide the management and operation of political parties.
In furtherance of this process, a NEC meeting was convened on July 29th, 2025, monitored by INEC officials. One of the conclusions of that NEC meeting was the dissolution of the National Working Committee of the party, and the ratification of a caretaker committee to take over the affairs of the party, with my humble self, David Mark, as the National Chairman; Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the National Secretary; as well as others who have since been serving as officers of the party.
In addition to witnessing this process that brought in the new leadership of the party, a formal report of these resolutions was subsequently communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). On September 9th, 2025, INEC then uploaded the names of the relevant NWC members of the party, based on the NEC resolutions.
One of the officials in the dissolved NWC was Nafiu Bala, who was one of the Deputy National Chairmen of the party. It is on record that Gombe resigned this position on 17th May, 2025. His resignation was also duly transmitted to INEC on the 12th of August, 2025. Regardless of his resignation, he decided to approach the courts on September 2nd, 2025, four clear months after his resignation, seeking to be recognised as the Chairman of the ADC.
What this means is that by the 2nd of September, when he approached the courts, INEC was already aware that Secretary Aregbesola and I had been inaugurated on the 29th of July in a process monitored by INEC. INEC was also aware that Gombe had resigned his position before the said inauguration on the 29th of July.
While this matter was in court, our team of lawyers approached the Court of Appeal, challenging the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. In rejecting the appeal, the Court of Appeal ordered the parties including INEC to maintain the status quo ante bellum.
After this ruling on March 12th, 2026, we noticed a flurry of activities by lawyers associated with Nafiu Bala, requesting INEC to recognise him as the new chairman, or to de-recognise Aregbesola and I as the secretary and chairman respectively, in a curious interpretation of what constitutes status quo ante bellum. But we knew all along that Nafiu Bala and his lawyers were not acting on their own volition. They had become willing tools in the hands of a ruling party that had lost all support and goodwill of the Nigerian people; a government that had become desperate to cling on to power by all means even if it meant throwing the country into avoidable crisis.
In the past couple of months, ADC has become the only viable opposition party left in Nigeria. But this APC government does not want any opposition. While we were fully aware of all their desperate plans, we remained confident that no level of desperation would have driven the government and the INEC to take a direct action against the ruling of the court. But we were wrong.
It was therefore to our surprise, yesterday, 1st of April, that INEC issued a press statement after the close of business hours, announcing that it had decided to withdraw recognition for both the ADC leadership, which I head, and the fictitious one purportedly led by Nafiu Bala, thereby creating a false equivalence between the parties.
By purporting to recognizing Nafiu Bala as a faction, INEC seems to have conveniently forgotten that this individual had resigned his position, to the knowledge of INEC itself.
The Legal Position
The crux of the matter is the interpretation of what constitutes status quo ante bellum, which the Court of Appeal directed should be maintained. From all authoritative counsel at our disposal, there is no legal interpretation or precedent that could possibly lead to the outcome that INEC seeks to foist on our party.
Based on its press statement of yesterday, INEC is pretending to be confused as to what constitutes the status quo ante bellum. If this was so, under the circumstances, what one would have expected was for INEC to approach the Court of Appeal to request a judicial interpretation of what truly represents the status quo under the circumstances. But it did not do this. While posturing to be neutral, its actions confirm that it has become irredeemably partisan, working, as it were, towards a preconceived agenda. With its action, this INEC has left no one in doubt that it has chosen the path of dishonour and has become complicit in undermining Nigeria’s democracy. It therefore can no longer be trusted.
What we say in essence is this: INEC cannot choose to fix the status quo from the day it took the administrative action to upload the names of the new ADC officials on its website, because INEC does not have the power to determine for any political party who its leaders should be. That decision was taken on July 29th, not on September 9th. With its press release yesterday, INEC has invented a status quo that never existed, because there was no time that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) did not have a duly constituted leadership. What INEC has done is to create a situation that, by its own curious logic, leaves the ADC without leadership. This certainly cannot be the status quo that the Court of Appeal directed should be preserved. It is an INEC invention that is not known to any Nigerian law.
There is only one conclusion that Nigerians can draw from the April 1st action taken by INEC: THE ELECTORAL UMPIRE HAS TAKEN SIDES. IT CAN NO LONGER BE TRUSTED. As a matter of fact, INEC has acted in contempt of the Court of Appeal and has therefore acted unlawfully.
My fellow democrats, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. It is not the ADC that is under attack. This is a direct assault on Nigeria’s democracy and the right of Nigerians to choose, participate, and exercise their rights as free citizens. We have witnessed how the APC-led Federal Government has undermined, compromised, and coerced other opposition political parties. The ADC has risen as the last bastion between Nigeria’s democracy and full-blown dictatorship. And this is what worries them.
What is now unfolding is a concerted effort to dismantle that last bulwark. If we allow this to happen, it could signal the end of our democracy as we know it. If we yield to it, we would have become complicit by our inaction. We therefore hold it a duty to our democracy and the Nigerian people to say “no”.
Right now, I speak to Nigerians at home and in diaspora. I also speak directly to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: with 90% of the National Assembly and over 30 of Nigeria’s 36 Governors in the APC, President Tinubu, what are you afraid of? If you are convinced that you have done well for the people who voted for you, why are you afraid of a free, fair, and transparent electoral contest? If you are indeed the democrat that you claim to be, why are you bent on destroying all opposition political parties?
Let me reiterate for the record; there are no competing claims on the leadership of the ADC. Nafiu Bala has no locus whatsoever. INEC should have waited for the Court of Appeal to decide this matter. Instead, INEC went ahead to do the bidding of the ruling party. But let us be clear: the role of INEC over political parties is not administrative: it is not managerial: It is simply supervisory.
For the avoidance of doubt, the leadership of ADC inaugurated at the 29th July 2025, NEC meeting remains the lawful leaders of the party. Party members and all Nigerians should therefore remain calm as there is no cause for alarm whatsoever.
It is important to state the net implications of this decision taken by INEC, in case they had not thought of it, or they just do not care:
First, by attempting to subvert the leadership of the ADC, INEC has already undermined our participation in the Osun and Ekiti elections taking place later this year.
Secondly, we have our congresses starting on the 9th of April, 2026, ending with our convention on the 14th April, 2026. We have given due notice to INEC, and they have acknowledged receipt of that notice. This is what the law requires of us.
Let us sound a note of warning. This INEC under Professor Joash Amupitan will be held directly responsible for whatever actions or reactions that follow this criminal path that it has chosen to take.
Our demand is therefore clear:
We demand the immediate resignation or sack of the INEC Chairman, Professor Amupitan, and all the National Commissioners. We no longer have confidence in them. We are convinced that they are incapable of conducting any credible election.
Let us also make it clear: we are proceeding with our party programmes, because there is nothing under the law that makes INEC’s attendance, a mandatory requirement. We have duly served INEC notice, and we will proceed accordingly.
We also call on the international community to take note of INEC’s actions of April 1st, and of the restraint we are exercising today. We urge them to recognise the clear threat to Nigeria’s democracy and stability, and to hold accountable those who are undermining the integrity of the electoral process.
We call on Nigerians to defend our democracy. This is a defining moment. Stand firm. Speak out. Participate. Resist any attempt to impose a one-party state on Nigeria. Nigeria belongs to all of us, and together, we must protect it.
It is often said, that the arc of history does not bend towards tyranny. It bends towards freedom.
And no matter how long the night may seem, the morning will come.
Nigeria will not be silenced. Nigeria will not be conquered.
The Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, has denied issuing a Passport for one Tali Shani who featured in evidence for Mike Ozekhome’s property dispute in North London at a London Tribunal, UK.
The NIS confirmed that the passport never existed, and the NIS disowned the letter, stressing that the said document was allegedly signed by “Abdulkadir Lawal,” who was described as an Assistant Legal Adviser of the NIS acting for the Comptroller-General.
The letter claimed to verify the authenticity of Tali Shani’s passport and attached a certified biodata page.
The NIS, however, stated that no such officer exists in its legal department and declared the letter invalid and unauthorized.
It also confirmed that the passport in question (A07535463) was stolen, never personalized, and had no legitimate holder in their records. Investigations revealed personal data had been unlawfully added to the passport, with multiple inconsistencies on the biodata page.
It would be recalled that the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Ozekhome, allegedly submitted a letter to a London tribunal as part of a claim over a North London property, which has however been declared fake.
The property at the center of the dispute, 79 Randall Avenue, was purchased in 1993 by the late Nigerian Army Lt. General and former FCT Minister, Jeremiah Useni, under a false identity, “Philips Bincan.” In 2021, Ozekhome reportedly tried to claim ownership through the UK Land Registry, alleging the property was gifted to him by someone claiming to be Tali Shani. The claim was challenged by Westfields Solicitors on behalf of the alleged original owner, Ms.Tali Shani.
In 2025, Judge Ewan Paton of the UK First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) ruled against Ozekhome, describing his claim as a “contrived story” since the individual who presented as Shani had no legal right to the property. Ownership now rests with whoever secures probate over Useni’s estate in England.
Meanwhile, Nigerian anti-corruption agencies have taken action. The ICPC filed three criminal charges against Ozekhome in Abuja for allegedly receiving the property through fraud, creating a fake Nigerian passport, and using it to support the claim. The EFCC also arraigned Ozekhome and co-defendant Ponfa Useni on 12 counts of forgery and impersonation. Both pleaded not guilty and were granted ₦10 million bail each.
Additionally, the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) secured an interim forfeiture order over the London property after no legitimate claimant came forward. They have since applied for a final forfeiture, arguing the property is likely proceeds of unlawful activity under Nigeria’s Proceeds of Crime Act, 2022.
Ozekhome maintains he explained the circumstances to the EFCC and acknowledged the UK tribunal ruling.
Yusuf Buhari, son of late former President Muhammadu Buhari, is set to make his formal entry into active partisan politics.
This followed his endorsement by stakeholders as the All Progressive Congress, APC, preferred choice for the Daura/Sandamu/Mai’adua Federal Constituency ahead of the 2027 polls.
Chairman of the Sandamu Local Council of Katsina State, Hon Usman Na’lado who disclosed this after a meeting of the stakeholders held at the Council’s Secretariat explained that Yusuf’s endorsement was predicated on his perceived capacity and acceptance by the generality of the people.
Addressing the stakeholders drawn mainly from elected officials and political appointees from across the Federal Constituency, the Council Chairman stated that the decision to float and support the younger Buhari was a unanimous one.
He expressed the confidence that Yusuf’s choice will enhance the chances of the APC in the election proper.
According to him, the endorsement of Yusuf was considered as a huge boost in the efforts to strengthen the party’s unity and growth in the Federal Constituency.
This was as he noted that stakeholders also endorsed the second term ambition of President Bola Tinubu and Katsina state Governor Dikko Umar Radda .
However, there are strong indications that the choice of Yusuf, including his foray into active partisan politics was influenced by the state Governor.
According to informed sources, the Governor actually directed the stakeholders to hand over the Constituency’s APC ticket to Yusuf as a veritable means of appreciating late President Buhari for his contributions and growth to the development to Katsina State.
Meanwhile, Yusuf is expected to formally announce his intention to contest the 2027 elections in the days ahead.
Senator Gbenga Daniel has eulogised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu describing him as a “textbook in governance and creative intelligence” that many politicians in the country should study critically.
Daniel, a former governor of Ogun state made the remark yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital during the public presentation of four books to mark his 70th birthday celebrations.
Four books were unveiled to mark the event, attended by former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, while President Tinubu was represented by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minisi=ter of the Economy, Wale Edun.
The books include, “Daniel in the Lions’ Den,” “My March through the Courts,” “Path to Justice,” and “Otunba Gbenga Daniel in the Eyes of Time”.
According to the former governor, representing Ogun Est in the Senate, President Tinubu is a ‘pragmactic leader’ that has done so much for the country, noting that Nigerians are yet to see ‘the best of him”.
Senator Daniel said he was able to achieve some mileage while serving as Ogun state governor because he understudied Tinubu, while he was governor of Lagos state.
Daniel: “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu remains one of the most pragmatic human beings that I have ever come across. Nigeria is yet to see the best of him. Mr President is a textbook in governance and creative intelligence that many of us read from.
“I owe the modest success of our administration as the Governor of Ogun State to his insight and creative geniuses; there are quite a lot of his governance initiatives that we copied from while I was Governor.”
Meanwhile, Senator Daniel’s remark comes amidst attacks on the Tinubu’s administration by not a few Nigerians, who blame him for the economic hardship and the security situation in the country.
The president has made wrong decisions for the country, Tinubu’s critics insists, accusing him of making the country worse than he met it.
To ensure neutrality and compliance with Court order, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), has vowed not to recognize any of the factions laying claim to the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
INEC vowed that it would strike the names of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola from its portal as National Chairman and National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, respectively.
This is coming as Hon. Nafiu Bala is laying claim, insisting that he is the only constitutionally recognized national chairman of ADC.
But on this, INEC said it would not recognise one Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, who had gone to court seeking to be made national chairman.
In a decisive response to the leadership tussle rocking the party and the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal in Suit No. CA/ABJ/145/2026, the Commission on Wednesday announced it will cease all recognition of the duo and refrain from monitoring any conventions or congresses organised by their faction, pending the determination of the substantive suit before the Federal High Court.
In a statement by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mallam Mohammed Kudu Haruna, INEC reiterated its “unwavering commitment to remain impartial and unbiased”.
He urged all political actors to avoid actions that could jeopardise the 2027 election timetable.
While the Commission refused a counter-request by Gombe’s lawyers to allow him to immediately take over the party’s affairs, it is committed to ensuring the case is heard expeditiously.
INEC stated that it was in receipt of a letter from the law firm of Suleiman Usman SAN & Co dated 16th March 2026 titled “Re: Notice of Pending Proceedings before the Federal High Court and Caution against any Purported Recognition of Mr Nafiu Bala Gombe as Acting National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress ADC”.
The crisis reached a boiling point following conflicting demands from legal representatives of the warring factions.
INEC also confirmed receiving a “Demand for Enforcement” from Summit Law Chambers, representing Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, which requested the Commission to: “Stop recognising Senator David Mark or and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the National Chairman and National Secretary of African Democratic Congress ADC, remove their names from INEC Website and refrain from receiving any correspondences from them or attending any of their meetings, congress or convention ordered or authorised by them.”
The factional acting National Publicity Secretary of ADC Bashir Muhammad has argued that Hon. Nafiu Bala is the only constitutionally recognised national chairman of the party.
He stated that the confusion around the David Mark–led faction ignores clear provisions in the ADC constitution that govern succession when a national chairman resigns.
Muhammad explained that after former chairman Ralph Nwosu stepped down, the party’s rules automatically made Deputy National Chairman Nafiu Bala the substantive leader for that zone.
He said the Bala-led structure was operating quietly and lawfully until, in his words, “usurpers” attempted to seize control of the party from outside the constitutional framework.
According to him, it was this alleged illegal takeover that forced the Bala faction to seek legal redress, asking the courts to restore the leadership arrangement that flowed directly from the party’s constitution.
He said: “Our party, the ADC, has a constitution. What is our constitution? In Article 14, Sub Article 2, Paragraph I, it opines that when the national chairman of a party resigns or is absent, the deputy national chairman takes over the affairs of the party within the party.”
A Professor of Law, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has revealed that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Prof Josiah Amupitan, is under threat for him to have assumed duties of the Court in the interpretation of Court of Appeal judgement.
Odinkalu faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] on its decision to interpret the ruling of the Court of Appeal in the case [appeal] between Senator David Mark v Hon Nafiu Bala Gombe & Ors.
Odinkalu, in an X post, pointed the finger at the INEC leadership, President Bola Tinubu, Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, alleging a meeting that culminated in the Commission’s statement containing its interpretation of the Court of Appeal ruling.
He wrote: “This release by @inecnigeria followed a meeting involving senior leaders of the Commission, & @NGRPresident, @CourtOfAppealNG, @FederalHigh in the last 60 hours.
“I have it on the most impeccable authority that there is a pre-signed resignation letter by Chairman [Professor Joash] Amupitan [INEC chairman].
“It was a pre-condition for his appointment. Ultimately, that had to be called in aid by those who persuaded him to issue this release. The threat of releasing it did the magic.
“It shd [should] be evident to a professor of law & #SAN that [it] is not the business of @inecnigeria to interpret the decision of the Court of Appeal. If they had any doubt, an #INEC governed by good faith shd [should] have gone back to the Court of Appeal to secure an interpretation of the decision.
“But that is not where we are now. The country stares down a barrel & only those willing to enable that, make peace with it, or dare it will be able to sniff the stakes in #NigeriaDecides2027.”
ADC has also kicked against INEC’s interpretation. It rejected INEC’s interpretation of the Court of Appeal ruling, alleging that the electoral body acted under pressure from a government that was scared stiff by the opposition’s momentum.
The ADC, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said APC-led federal government was still panicky despite its efforts to destroy all opposition parties and foist a one-party rule on Nigeria.
The party described INEC’s position as contradictory and inconsistent with facts, insisting that it would publicly clarify these issues while warning that the commission has effectively sided with the government against Nigerians.
ADC said it was currently reviewing its options and would announce its next steps soon, urging its members and the public to remain steadfast as events unfolded.
“We reject INEC’s interpretation of the Court of Appeal ruling. We knew that INEC was being pressured by a government that has become jittery from the ADC’s rising momentum even in the face of its relentless assault on all opposition parties.
“INEC’s press statement is full of contradictions that fly in the face of both facts and reason. We shall clarify these contradictions for all to see. What is clear, however, is that INEC has caved to pressure and has chosen to side with the government against the Nigerian people.
“We are currently reviewing our options, and we shall make these known soon.
“Meanwhile, we call on our members and all Nigerians to remain steadfast as they await further directives. Nigeria is rising. ADC is rising.”
