Fact-Check: No Court Nullified ADC Primary Election Conducted Under David Mark’s Leadership
Claim: An X user, Mayor of Calabar, claimed that a court had nullified the African Democratic Congress (ADC) primary election conducted under the leadership of former Senate President David Mark....
Claim: An X user, Mayor of Calabar, claimed that a court had nullified the African Democratic Congress (ADC) primary election conducted under the leadership of former Senate President David Mark.
Verdict: False. Available court records and media reports show that the ongoing litigation relates to the party’s leadership dispute, not to any primary election conducted by the party.
Full Story
As proceedings commenced at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, June 8, over a suit challenging the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a social media claim began circulating alleging that a court had nullified the party’s primary election conducted under the leadership of David Mark.
The claim originated from an X user identified as Mayor of Calabar, who further alleged that the court had directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to recognise or act on the outcome of the primary election.
Within hours of being posted, the claim gained significant traction, attracting more than 54,000 views, 265 likes and 124 reposts. See the screenshot below:
The post drew mixed reactions. Some users dismissed it as misinformation, while others alleged that the ruling party was influencing the judiciary to weaken the opposition.
Given the potential political implications of the claim, NDRFactCheck examined the facts surrounding the court proceedings and the ADC leadership dispute.
Verification
A review of court filings and reports relating to the ongoing ADC case showed that the matter before the Federal High Court concerns a leadership dispute within the party and not any primary election conducted under David Mark’s leadership.
The suit was instituted by Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former deputy national chairman of the ADC, who is challenging the legitimacy of the current national leadership of the party.
Reports by multiple media organisations, including The Guardian, indicate that the case centres on the party’s leadership structure and internal administration. There is no indication that the court is considering any challenge to the ADC primary elections.
Furthermore, previous reports show that the Supreme Court had issued rulings affecting the leadership dispute and directed the Federal High Court, where the matter originated, to proceed with an accelerated hearing of the substantive case.
Media coverage of the June 8 proceedings also indicates that arguments before the court focused largely on applications seeking the recusal of Justice Peter Lifu from presiding over the leadership dispute involving the David Mark-led ADC leadership.
Although some aspirants who participated in ADC primaries had publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of certain elections and alleged irregularities, threatening legal actions, there is no publicly available evidence that any court has nullified the party’s primary elections or that such elections are currently the subject of a successful legal challenge.
Hence, the claim that a court has nullified the ADC primary election conducted under David Mark’s leadership is false.
Available court records and credible media reports show that the ongoing litigation concerns the leadership crisis within the ADC and not the validity of the party’s primary elections. There is also no evidence that any court has directed INEC not to recognise the outcome of the primary elections conducted by the party.
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