Crisis Rocks Coalition as Members Heads to Court

A major crisis has erupted within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as three aggrieved members have dragged the party and its newly constituted interim leadership, led by former Senate President David Mark, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The plaintiffs — Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu, and Haruna Ismaila — are seeking the court’s intervention to declare the appointments of the interim leaders as unlawful, unconstitutional, and in violation of the party’s constitution and 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 former National Chairman, Raph Nwosu, are listed as 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively.

Also named as defendants are Senator David Mark, appointed as the Interim National Chairman, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola (Interim National Secretary), and former Minister of Sports Bolaji Abdullahi (Interim National Publicity Secretary), who are the 4th, 5th, and 6th defendants.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine, among other things:

• Whether the appointments of Senator Mark, Aregbesola, and Abdullahi violated the provisions of the ADC Constitution (2018 as amended).
• Whether these individuals were duly registered members of the ADC prior to their appointments.
• Whether the ADC Constitution permits the creation of interim leadership roles such as Interim Chairman, Secretary, and Publicity Secretary.
• Whether a properly convened National Convention or a valid NEC decision was not required before dissolving or replacing the existing Executive Committee.
• Whether INEC can lawfully recognise the new interim leaders based on the party’s constitutional framework.

The plaintiffs also want the court to determine whether the handover of the party’s leadership to the newly constituted interim team by Raph Nwosu violated an earlier judgment delivered on December 21, 2022, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1541/2022 by Justice Binta Nyako.

In addition to these legal questions, they are urging the court to issue declarations that:

• The appointment of the interim leaders is unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void.
• The actions taken by the party’s former leadership contradict the constitution of the ADC.

No date has been set for the hearing of the case.

This legal challenge comes on the heels of a coalition announcement spearheaded by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, which adopted the ADC as the new opposition platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.

In response, the ADC, through its founding National Chairman, Raph Nwosu, had declared the collapse of all party structures to make way for a new leadership that would lead the emerging opposition coalition.

However, the current legal battle raises significant questions about the legality and internal cohesion of the ADC’s transformation process.