By Dennis Okechukwu
The leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress intensified on Friday as the Nafiu Bala-led faction directed the party’s interim leadership headed by David Mark to immediately suspend the sale of Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms pending the outcome of an ongoing court case.
The directive was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the Secretary of the party’s Board of Trustees, Rufus Akanmi, following a BoT meeting held on Thursday.
Akanmi warned party members and aspirants against purchasing nomination forms while the legal dispute remains unresolved, stressing that anyone who proceeds does so at their own risk.
According to him, the party would not be liable for any consequences arising from the purchase of the forms before the court delivers its final judgment.
The Bala faction also praised the recent Supreme Court ruling delivered on April 30, 2026, describing it as a major boost for constitutional democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria’s political system.
The group further appealed to members of the coalition within the party and supporters of the Mark-led camp to work with the Gombe-led leadership to preserve party unity ahead of future elections.
Akanmi disclosed that the Board had directed the National Working Committee to establish caretaker committees in states where the tenure of state executives had expired. He added that the party would also begin arrangements for a mini national convention to fill vacant positions created by recent resignations within the NWC.
Meanwhile, proceedings in the substantive leadership suit suffered another setback after Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja adjourned the matter indefinitely.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, had earlier been delayed following an interlocutory appeal filed by the Mark faction, which eventually reached the Supreme Court.
At Friday’s hearing, counsel to the plaintiff, Luka Musa Haruna, informed the court that the Supreme Court had dismissed the interlocutory appeal on April 30 for lacking merit and vacated the Court of Appeal’s order staying proceedings in the substantive case.
However, Haruna also revealed that the plaintiff had written to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court requesting that the case be transferred to another judge.
The move sparked strong objections from lawyers representing the defendants, who accused the plaintiff of attempting to frustrate the accelerated hearing earlier ordered by the appellate court and upheld by the Supreme Court.
Counsel to the first defendant, Realwan Okpanachi, argued that the plaintiff misrepresented the Supreme Court judgment and described the transfer request as an ambush.
Lawyers representing other defendants also condemned the request, describing it as “forum shopping” and “judge shopping.”
Delivering his ruling, Justice Nwite held that the court could not take any decision on the transfer request without hearing all parties involved.
The judge stated that since the letter was addressed to the Chief Judge, the trial court could not make any pronouncement on it.
He subsequently adjourned the matter indefinitely to allow parties file a Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgment and await further directives from the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.