ADC Says Appeal Court Ruling Did Not Affect Party Leadership

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has clarified that the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal in a case involving its National Chairman, Senator David Mark, does not affect the current leadership structure of the party.

In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi on Saturday, the ADC said the attention of its leadership had been drawn to reports suggesting that the Court of Appeal had made a determination regarding the party’s leadership dispute.

Abdullahi explained that after carefully reviewing the judgment, the party concluded that the appellate court did not decide on the substantive issues concerning the leadership of the ADC.

According to him, the lawsuit challenging the emergence of Senator David Mark as National Chairman and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary is still pending before the Federal High Court and has not yet been heard or determined on its merits.

He noted that the Court of Appeal did not grant any relief in favour of the plaintiff and did not issue any order altering the party’s leadership structure.

“On the contrary, the court ordered that parties should maintain the status quo, meaning that the current state of affairs within the party should remain unchanged pending the determination of the substantive suit,” the statement said.

The party therefore urged its members not to panic or be misled by what it described as misinterpretations of the court’s ruling.

Abdullahi maintained that the judgment was purely procedural and does not affect the legitimacy or tenure of the current national leadership of the party.

He added that the ADC remains united and focused despite what he described as the activities of anti-democratic forces allegedly attempting to impose a one-party system on Nigeria.