The supreme court has fixed Thursday, April 30, to deliver judgement in an appeal filed by David Mark, national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), over the leadership tussle in the country.
The appeal, marked SC/CV/180/2026, was listed for judgement on the website of the supreme court and indicated that the date has been communicated to parties in the suit. According to the notice, the judgement would commence at 2 pm.
Mark, who is leading a faction of the ADC, is challenging the March 12 ruling of the court of appeal, which ordered parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum in a suit instituted by aggrieved party members.
In the appeal, the former senate president argued that the appellate court exceeded its jurisdiction by intervening in what he described as the internal affairs of a political party.
Through his counsel, Jubril Okutepa, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mark maintained that disputes relating to party leadership are non-justiciable, urging the court to set aside the judgement.
The respondents in the suit include Nafiu Bala, the ADC factional chairman; Rauf Aregbesola, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); and Ralph Nwosu, former national chairman of the party.
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Among the reliefs sought, Mark asked the court to restrain INEC from recognising any leadership outside his faction pending the determination of the appeal.
He also prayed the court to stop the electoral body from making changes to the party’s leadership structure and to stay proceedings in a related suit pending before the federal high court in Abuja.
While INEC did not file any process in support of or against the appeal, other respondents urged the apex court to dismiss the case.
A five-member panel of the apex court reserved judgement after hearing the appeal on April 22, 2026.
The supreme court will also deliver judgement in three appeals seeking to validate the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, on November 15 and 16, 2025.
