Former Osun State Governor and National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Rauf Aregbesola, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to suspend any changes to the party’s leadership records until his appeal against a recent Federal High Court judgment is determined.
Aregbesola made the request in a letter dated November 9, 2026, addressed to INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, through his legal representative, Mohammed Sheriff, SAN.
The intervention follows a November 5 judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which nullified Aregbesola’s assumption of office as the ADC National Secretary under the leadership of former Senate President David Mark.
In the correspondence, Aregbesola informed the electoral commission that he had filed a notice of appeal challenging the ruling, alongside an application seeking a stay of execution to prevent the enforcement of the judgment while the appeal is pending.
His lawyer disclosed that both court processes were filed on November 7, urging INEC to avoid taking discretionary actions that could affect the outcome of the pending application.
Sheriff also drew the commission’s attention to an earlier judgment delivered on July 2, 2026, by Justice Musa Liman of the same court, which recognised David Mark as the ADC National Chairman and Aregbesola as the National Secretary.
According to the lawyer, the earlier ruling affirmed that the former party chairman, Ralph Nwosu, acted within his authority when he transferred the party’s leadership to Mark and Aregbesola.
He maintained that the two judgments addressed INEC’s dealings with the party’s leadership and urged the commission to refer the documents to its Legal Services Department for urgent examination.
The legal representative further requested that INEC preserve all existing records relating to the recognition of the ADC leadership, including official correspondence, published entries and documentation of any changes.
The request comes amid an ongoing leadership dispute within the opposition party, with different court proceedings addressing the legitimacy of its leadership structure.
Aregbesola is seeking judicial intervention to protect his position while the appellate court considers his challenge to the November 5 ruling.
