Three members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging the legality of the appointment of Senator David Mark as Interim National Chairman of the party.
The plaintiffs — Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu, and Haruna Ismaila — are also questioning the appointments of Rauf Aregbesola as Interim National Secretary and Bolaji Abdullahi as Interim National Publicity Secretary.
Plaintiffs Challenge Appointments as “Unconstitutional”
The aggrieved members argue that the appointments violate both the ADC constitution and a standing court judgment. According to the plaintiffs, the ADC is not a newly formed party, and therefore, the concept of an interim leadership structure does not exist within its legal framework.
They contend that:
-
Senator David Mark, Aregbesola, and Abdullahi were not properly registered party members at the time of their appointments.
-
The former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, had no authority to dissolve the party structure or appoint new leaders without due process.
-
A valid leadership change must be made either through a national convention or by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
The suit also questions whether the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should legally recognize the interim leadership, urging the court to declare such recognition null and void.
Reliefs Sought
The plaintiffs are asking the court to:
-
Declare the appointments unlawful, unconstitutional, and invalid.
-
Nullify any decisions or actions taken by the interim leaders.
-
Bar INEC from recognizing the new leadership structure pending legal resolution.
Political Context
This legal tussle follows ADC’s recent adoption as a coalition platform by political allies of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is widely expected to contest the 2027 presidential election against President Bola Tinubu.
After that coalition announcement, the Ralph Nwosu-led ADC leadership declared the dissolution of the party’s structure, allegedly to accommodate the new political alliance and leadership team.
No Court Date Yet
As of now, no date has been scheduled for hearing the case.
This lawsuit could have significant implications for both the internal stability of the ADC and the emerging 2027 opposition strategy against the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Leave a Reply