High Court Ruling: ADC Rejects Judgment, Moves to Appeal, Says Mark, Aregbesola Remain Leaders

The African Democratic Congress has vowed to challenge the Federal High Court judgment that nullified its National Working Committee led by Senator David Mark, insisting that Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola remain the party’s recognised leaders.

The opposition party said its legal team was already taking steps to seek appropriate interim relief and would proceed to the Court of Appeal to contest the ruling delivered by Justice Peter Lifu in Abuja.

The court had upheld a suit instituted by Nafiu Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the ADC, declaring the Mark-led Caretaker Committee illegal and invalidating its actions.

The judgment also affected the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.

However, the ADC Presidential Campaign Council dismissed the ruling, arguing that an earlier judgment delivered by Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja had already addressed the leadership dispute and affirmed the emergence of Mark and Aregbesola.

In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, the council explained that the party’s leadership transition followed a stakeholders’ meeting on July 2, 2025, and a subsequent National Executive Council meeting on July 29, 2025.

It maintained that the meetings, during which Mark emerged as National Chairman and Aregbesola as National Secretary, were monitored by INEC.

The council insisted that the latest judgment could not simply override the earlier court decision.

“The leadership question has already been subjected to judicial scrutiny by a court of coordinate jurisdiction. It is, therefore, untenable to suggest that a subsequent pronouncement can simply erase or displace an existing judicial decision without due regard to the principles governing judicial authority and the administration of justice,” it said.

On its next legal steps, the council disclosed:

“The ADC legal team is already taking steps to seek appropriate interim relief, including a stay of execution where legally applicable, and will subsequently pursue an appeal against the judgment.”

It also alleged that the APC was deploying different instruments to frustrate opposition parties rather than confronting them through democratic competition.

The ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, similarly criticised the judgment, alleging that it was part of an effort to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 polls.

The development has sparked reactions across the political landscape, with Atiku accusing the ruling party of plotting to frustrate his presidential ambition, while other opposition figures, including Peter Obi, urged the judiciary to protect democratic principles.

Despite the legal setback, the ADC maintained that its political activities would continue, urging its members and supporters not to lose confidence in the party.

“The ADC is not distracted. The campaign continues. The struggle for a better Nigeria remains unstoppable,” the campaign council declared.