ADC, INEC Lock Horns as Court Row Explodes

The African Democratic Congress says the electoral umpire has twisted a Court of Appeal ruling to suit its own ends. INEC is standing firm. The legal showdown now threatens to shake the party’s 2027 plans.

Atlantic Post

April 5, 2026

2–3 minutes

2027 Elections, ADC, African Democratic Congress, Atlantic Post, Breaking News, Court of Appeal, INEC, Leadership Crisis, Nigeria Politics, Opposition Parties

The African Democratic Congress has vowed to take the Independent National Electoral Commission to court over what it calls a shameless and mischievous interpretation of a Court of Appeal ruling on the party’s leadership.

The party says INEC has no business removing its leaders from the commission’s official portal on the basis of what it describes as a false reading of the judgment.

On Sunday evening in Katsina, Lawal Tukur-Batagarawa, speaking for the state chapter, said the party’s national leadership had already met its legal team and resolved to challenge INEC in a court of competent jurisdiction.

His claim was blunt. INEC, he said, had deliberately twisted the order to create confusion and doubt around the ADC’s leadership structure.

According to him, the appellate court only ordered that the status quo be maintained pending further proceedings.

It did not, he insisted, suspend the party’s national leadership or wipe it off the electoral commission’s records.

That distinction is now at the centre of a widening political fight.

INEC’s action has sparked fury inside the ADC, which says the commission went far beyond the limits of its role by treating the court order as though it had dissolved the party’s leadership.

The ADC says that reading is wrong, reckless and calculated to cause mischief.

Tukur-Batagarawa said the party’s position was firm and that the national headquarters had no intention of backing down.

He said the matter would be tested in court and that the ADC was confident the commission’s interpretation would not stand.

Despite the storm, the party says its political calendar remains intact.

It insists that ward, local government and state congresses will go ahead as scheduled, with a national convention fixed for April 14.

The message from the ADC is that the row with INEC will not derail preparations for the 2027 general elections.

Party leaders say they remain focused on building what they describe as a credible alternative for Nigerians ahead of the next polls.

Tukur-Batagarawa also urged members across the country to remain calm, united and disciplined.

He said the party would not be distracted by the present legal battle and would continue to strengthen its structures nationwide.

The dispute now places INEC in the middle of a fast-moving opposition crisis that could shape the coming election cycle.

What began as an argument over a court ruling has become a larger battle over authority, recognition and political control.

For the ADC, the matter is simple. INEC has overreached.