ABUJA — Nigeria’s Supreme Court delivers judgment today in two of the most consequential political cases of the pre-election season leadership disputes that have paralysed both the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, and which threaten to lock both parties out of the 2027 general elections altogether.
The apex court has listed both matters under “Political Appeals” on its cause list for Thursday, April 30, 2026, with the ADC case marked SC/CV/180/2026 scheduled for 2pm. The PDP matter carries appeal number SC/CV/166/2026.
The urgency is acute. INEC has set May 10 as the deadline for political parties to submit their membership registers — a requirement neither party can fulfil without a legally recognised leadership structure. ADC faces particular peril: none of its warring factions has been formally recognised by INEC, meaning a delayed or unfavourable ruling could effectively bar the party from the ballot.
At the heart of the ADC crisis is a bitter feud between former Senate President David Mark, who leads a faction backed by frontline opposition figures, and a rival bloc led by Nafiu Bala Gombe. Mark is challenging a March 12 Court of Appeal ruling that ordered all parties to maintain the status quo, arguing the lower court exceeded its jurisdiction by wading into what he considers a non-justiciable internal party matter.
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INEC had already acted on that ruling to remove Mark and his ally Rauf Aregbesola from its portal as ADC National Chairman and Secretary respectively.
The PDP’s crisis runs just as deep. The appeals before the Supreme Court seek validation of the PDP’s national convention held in Ibadan in November 2025, which produced a Tanimu Turaki-led factional leadership. The Court of Appeal had earlier ruled that the convention lacked legal backing, having defied two Federal High Court orders.
The faction aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike currently holds INEC recognition, giving it operational advantage over rival blocs backed by Oyo Governor Seyi Makinde and Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed.
Ahead of today’s ruling, ADC leaders held an emergency strategic meeting Wednesday night to review possible outcomes and chart the next course of action for the opposition coalition, which has adopted the ADC as its primary political platform for 2027. ADC’s National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi struck a defiant note outside the court, urging members to stay calm. “What is at stake is no longer our party. What is at stake is the democracy of Nigeria,” he said.
Today’s verdicts will be among the most closely watched judicial pronouncements in Nigeria’s recent political history capable of either stabilising or shattering the opposition’s hopes of mounting a credible challenge to President Tinubu in 2027.
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