Three aggrieved members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC)—Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu, and Haruna Ismaila—have filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to remove the Senator David Mark-led interim leadership of the party.
The plaintiffs are also challenging the very membership of Senator Mark and others appointed as interim leaders.
Among their prayers, they are asking the court to determine if the alleged handover of the party’s leadership structure to individuals involved in a merger directly violates a subsisting judgment.
Read Also: How Tinubu’s Government Is Plotting To Weaken Opposition Coalition – ADC
The lawsuit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1328, names the ADC as the 1st defendant, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the immediate past National Chairman, Raph Nwosu, joined as 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.
Senator Mark (Interim National Chairman), former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola (Interim National Secretary), and former Minister of Sports Bolaji Abdullahi (Interim National Publicity Secretary) are listed as the 4th, 5th, and 6th defendants.
Specifically, the plaintiffs have posed several legal questions for the court to address:
- Whether the appointment of the 4th, 5th, and 6th defendants breaches the ADC Constitution (2018, as amended).
- Whether these interim leaders are qualified to hold their respective offices under Article 9, paragraph D of the ADC Constitution.
- Whether key individuals involved in the merger, including the 4th, 5th, and 6th defendants, were properly registered ADC members to qualify for leadership positions.
- Whether the ADC Constitution, as an existing party, provides for interim leadership roles such as Interim National Chairman, Secretary, and Publicity Secretary.
- Whether the current Executive Committee of the ADC should have been dissolved or replaced only through a properly convened National Convention or a valid decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
- Whether INEC can lawfully recognize the 4th, 5th, and 6th defendants as interim leaders in line with the ADC Constitution.
- Whether the 3rd defendant’s (Raph Nwosu) purported handover of the party’s leadership violates the judgment delivered in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1541/2022 by Hon. Justice Binta Nyako on December 21, 2022.
Based on the court’s determination of these questions, the plaintiffs are seeking declarations that the appointment and nomination of the interim leadership are “unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void,” and inconsistent with the ADC Constitution.
No date has been set for the hearing of the matter.
This legal challenge comes after a coalition, reportedly backed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, announced the adoption of the ADC as its platform to contest President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
Following this announcement, the ADC, through its founding National Chairman Raph Nwosu, had declared the collapse of all party structures to enable a new leadership to drive this coalition of forces.
Join Informant Online WhatsApp Channel With Link Below: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaihFajBadmT29ufud2
