Three dissatisfied members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) have filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the removal of the Senator David Mark-led interim leadership of the party.
The plaintiffs—Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu, and Haruna Ismaila—are challenging the legitimacy of Senator Mark and others appointed as interim leaders. They allege that the handover of the party’s structure to individuals linked to a recent merger violates a subsisting court judgment.
In the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1328, the ADC is listed as the 1st defendant, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the party’s immediate past National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, are the 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.
Also named as defendants are Senator David Mark (4th defendant), recently appointed as Interim National Chairman; former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola (5th defendant), Interim National Secretary; and former Minister of Sports, Bolaji Abdullahi (6th defendant), Interim National Publicity Secretary.
The plaintiffs posed several legal questions for the court to determine, including:
- Whether the appointments of the 4th, 5th, and 6th defendants violated the ADC Constitution (2018, as amended);
- Whether, based on Article 9, Paragraph D of the party’s constitution, these individuals are qualified to occupy their respective interim offices;
- Whether the individuals involved in the merger were properly registered ADC members before being given leadership roles;
- Whether the ADC Constitution allows for the creation of interim leadership positions in the first place;
- Whether the party’s executive committee could legally be dissolved or replaced without a properly convened National Convention or a valid decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC);
- Whether INEC (2nd defendant) can legitimately recognise the interim leadership under the ADC Constitution;
- And whether Ralph Nwosu’s handover to the interim leadership violates an earlier judgment delivered by Justice Binta Nyako on December 21, 2022, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1541/2022.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the interim appointments unconstitutional, unlawful, null, and void. They are also seeking a formal declaration that the appointment of Senator Mark, Aregbesola, and Abdullahi contradicts the party’s constitutional provisions. As of now, the court has not scheduled a date for the hearing.
This legal action follows a recent political development in which a coalition, reportedly backed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, adopted the ADC as its platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. In response, Ralph Nwosu, the founding National Chairman of the ADC, announced the dissolution of the party’s structures to pave the way for new leadership to lead the coalition into the next general election.
