How Can A Man Whose Tenure Expired On Oct 11 Still Be NWC Member On Nov 5? — ADC Lawyer Questions

According to a report by Channels TV on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, a lawyer and member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr. Kalu, has faulted a key aspect of the judgment delivered by Honourable Justice Peter Olifu regarding the tenure of Nafiu Bala, describing it as a major contradiction that undermines the ruling on the party’s leadership.

Speaking on the matter, Mr. Kalu urged Nigerians to closely scrutinize the judgment, noting that the court itself established both the commencement and expiration dates of Bala’s tenure within the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), yet arrived at a conflicting conclusion.

“In that judgment, Justice Olifu, in the body of the judgment, says that from the facts before him, that Nafiu Bala was elected into the NWC of ADC on the 12th day of October 2022, and that his tenure will elapse on the 11th day of October 2026, and all their reliefs were weaved around Section 231 of the Constitution that makes provision for a 4-year tenure, and then finally held that the tenure of Nafiu Bala is still subsisting,” Mr. Kalu stated.

He explained that by straightforward arithmetic, a four-year term beginning on October 12, 2022, naturally terminates on October 11, 2026.

Consequently, he expressed surprise that the court ruled on November 5, 2026 nearly a month after the expiration date that Bala remained a valid member of the NWC.

“When, in natural effect, the tenure of Bala had long expired on the 11th day of October 2026, and he now gave the judgment that now affirmed the election of Gombe, or that Nafiu Bala Gombe is still a member of the NWC on the 5th day of November 2026, when Nafiu Bala Gombe, by their own depositions, by the findings of the court, elapsed on the 11th day of October 2026,” Kalu added.

Questioning how an officeholder whose mandate ended on October 11 could legally be affirmed as a subsisting NWC member weeks later on November 5, Kalu noted that this inconsistency forms one of the primary grounds for the ADC’s decision to appeal the ruling.

He expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal would thoroughly examine the dates, party depositions, and the lower court’s own findings to recognize that the tenure had already lapsed.

Insisting that the judgment cannot stand because it contradicts its own timeline and lacks legal backing, Kalu called on Nigerians to interrogate rulings that validate expired tenures.

While urging ADC supporters to remain calm as the appellate process unfolds, Kalu remarked that whenever political actors scheme to exclude others from the ballot, divine intervention ultimately protects those meant to be included.

Watch the video starting from 15:24 to 16:13

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