Nigeria’s Supreme Court will on Tuesday take up separate appeals stemming from deepening leadership crises in two opposition parties, the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, in what analysts say could have significant implications for the 2027 general election cycle.
The apex court will hear the appeal filed by former Senate President David Mark, who currently claims the position of ADC National Chairman, alongside a separate appeal by a factional leadership of the PDP backed by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and led by senior advocate Tanimu Turaki.
Both appeals are challenging decisions of the Court of Appeal.
In the ADC matter, Mark is seeking an order to stay the execution of a Court of Appeal judgment delivered on March 12, which affected his position as party chairman, pending the final determination of his appeal.
His case, Appeal No: SC/CV/180/2026, has Nafiu-Bala Gombe and four others listed as respondents, including former Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola, INEC, and former ADC national chairman Ralph Nwosu.
Through his lawyer, Realwan Okpanachi, Mark is asking the court to restrain INEC from recognising anyone other than himself and the current national officers of the party.
He is also seeking an order to halt related proceedings before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, which is also scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, in a potential clash of proceedings across court levels.
Okpanachi argued that Gombe had written to INEC urging the commission not to recognise Mark and the current ADC officers, describing the move as an attempt to enforce the appellate court judgment before the appeal is resolved. He contended that without the stay, the appeal could be rendered futile.
The dispute between Mark and Gombe traces back to a suit filed by Gombe, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman, who challenged the legitimacy of Mark and Aregbesola’s emergence as party leaders, arguing that their appointments violated the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
INEC subsequently removed their names from its official portal on April 1, following the appellate court ruling, a development that prompted Mark’s team to rush to both the Federal High Court and the Supreme Court for relief.
The ADC’s troubles are further compounded by a third faction loyal to the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Dumebi Kachikwu, which has publicly endorsed INEC’s withdrawal of recognition from the Mark-led executive.
That group claims to have held a valid National Executive Committee meeting at Kachikwu’s Abuja office, where it constituted a new leadership structure.
Both the Mark and Gombe camps have rejected the group as illegitimate, with the ADC spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi describing its members as opportunists taking advantage of the party’s internal challenges.
On the PDP side, the Turaki-led faction is asking the Supreme Court to reverse an appellate court ruling that nullified its national convention and the leadership structure that emerged from it.
The faction argues that allowing the judgment to stand without intervention would destabilise the party ahead of what is shaping up to be a fiercely contested 2027 election season.
The convergence of both cases at the Supreme Court on the same day underscores the mounting judicial pressure on Nigeria’s opposition parties as political actors begin positioning for 2027.
