A Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the leadership of the African Democratic Congress headed by former Senate President David Mark, dismissing a suit filed by House of Representatives member, Leke Abejide, challenging the party’s leadership structure.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman held that the suit lacked merit and was not justiciable because it bordered on the internal affairs of a political party. The court upheld the preliminary objections filed by the ADC, its former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, incumbent National Chairman David Mark and National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola.
Justice Liman ruled that Abejide failed to establish that any of his legal rights had been violated by the emergence of the current leadership and also did not exhaust the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism before approaching the court. He further held that the transition of leadership from Nwosu to Mark did not violate the ADC constitution or the Electoral Act.
The judge consequently declared that the emergence of David Mark as National Chairman and Aregbesola as National Secretary was valid and in line with the party’s constitution and electoral laws. The court also awarded N2 million each against Abejide in favour of the defendants and imposed an additional N10 million cost against his counsel.
