By Amah
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The Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), upholding the emergence of former Senate President, David Mark, as the party’s National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman dismissed a suit filed by Rep. Leke Abejide, describing the case as lacking merit and ruling that the court had no jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of a political party.
The court upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, and Aregbesola, holding that the claimant failed to establish that his legal rights had been infringed by the party’s leadership transition.
Justice Liman further ruled that the transfer of leadership from Ralph Nwosu to David Mark did not contravene the party’s constitution. According to the court, the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, validly preceded the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of July 29, 2025, where the new leadership was formally endorsed.
The judge declared that the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola complied with the ADC Constitution, the Electoral Act, and other applicable laws, governing political parties in Nigeria.
As part of the ruling, the court awarded ₦2 million in costs to each of the defendants, payable by Abejide. It also imposed an additional ₦10 million cost against the plaintiff’s counsel in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
The legal dispute stemmed from Abejide’s challenge to the leadership restructuring within the ADC. He had asked the court to invalidate the handover of the party’s leadership to David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola and sought an order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising the new executives.
The judgment represents a significant legal victory for the ADC leadership, removing a major judicial hurdle and reinforcing the legitimacy of the party’s current national executives as they continue preparations for future political activities.
