By Ahmad Ibrahim.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed Senator David Mark as National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Rauf Aregbesola as the party’s National Secretary.
Justice Musa Liman dismissed a suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide challenging the party’s leadership, ruling that the matter was a non-justiciable internal party affair. The court also held that Abejide lacked the legal standing to institute the case and had failed to exhaust the ADC’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
The judge consequently upheld the leadership transition from former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu and awarded costs of N2 million against the plaintiff in favour of each defendant, as well as an additional N10 million against Abejide’s counsel.
On the legality of the leadership change, Justice Liman held that Nwosu’s transfer of leadership did not violate the ADC constitution. He ruled that the July 2, 2025 stakeholders’ meeting, where Nwosu handed over the party’s leadership, preceded the National Executive Committee meeting of July 29, 2025, which formally produced David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, under the supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to the court, the emergence of the duo complied with both the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act, 2026.
Abejide had filed the suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025) on February 15 against the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola and INEC, seeking to nullify the July 2, 2025 leadership handover.
He also sought orders restraining Mark and Aregbesola from acting as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, and an injunction preventing INEC from recognising them as the party’s leaders, arguing that their emergence violated the ADC constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
The judgment brings to a close months of internal disputes and legal battles over the party’s leadership.
