Thursday 3rd, July 2026
By Admin
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has upheld the leadership of the African Democratic Congress under former Senate President David Mark, dismissing a suit that challenged his emergence as the party's national chairman.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman ruled that the case filed by lawmaker Leke Abejide lacked merit and upheld the objections raised by the party and the respondents in the matter.
The respondents included former ADC national chairman Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, and former Osun State governor Rauf Aregbesola, who currently serves as the party's national secretary.
Justice Liman held that the court lacked jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of the political party, describing the dispute as one that was not justiciable. The court further ruled that Abejide failed to establish that his rights had been violated by the emergence of the current leadership and therefore lacked the legal standing to institute the action.
The judge also found that the lawmaker did not exhaust the party's internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
In resolving the substantive issues in favour of the respondents, the court ruled that the process which produced David Mark and Aregbesola complied with both the ADC constitution and relevant electoral laws.
The court further held that the transfer of leadership from Ralph Nwosu to David Mark did not violate the party's constitution. It accepted that the July 2, 2025 stakeholders' meeting held at the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre preceded the party's National Executive Council meeting of July 29, 2025, where Mark and Aregbesola formally emerged as leaders of the party in a process monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Consequently, the court declared the appointments of David Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary valid and consistent with both the party's constitution and the Electoral Act 2026.
In addition to dismissing the suit, the court ordered Abejide to pay ₦2 million in costs to each of the respondents. It also imposed an additional ₦10 million penalty on the lawmaker's counsel in line with provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.
Abejide had approached the court seeking to nullify the handover of the party's leadership by Ralph Nwosu to David Mark and Aregbesola, arguing that the process was unlawful. He had also sought orders restraining the duo from presenting themselves as leaders of the party and preventing INEC from recognising them in those capacities.