…Party insists primaries remain valid
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld a Federal High Court judgment restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or participating in state congresses organised by committees appointed by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), even as the party insisted the ruling would not affect candidates who emerged through its direct primaries.
In a split two-to-one decision delivered yesterday, a three-member panel of the appellate court affirmed the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court, which barred the Mark-led caretaker committee from conducting state congresses or interfering with the tenure of the party’s elected state executive committees.
Justice Okon Abang, who delivered the lead judgment supported by Justice Donatus Okorowo, held that only duly elected state executive committees possess the constitutional authority to conduct state congresses, stressing that the caretaker leadership lacked the legal power to appoint committees for that purpose. Justice Abba Mohammed dissented, arguing that the matter was an internal party affair beyond the jurisdiction of the courts.
The appellate court agreed with the findings of Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, of the Federal High Court, who had ruled that the tenure of the ADC’s State Working Committees and State Executive Committees remained valid pending properly constituted congresses and a national convention.
The suit was instituted by seven aggrieved party members on behalf of ADC state chairmen and executive committees, challenging the decision of the David Mark-led caretaker committee to organise state congresses through appointed committees. They argued that such actions violated both the party’s constitution and the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
Affirming the lower court’s reasoning, the Court of Appeal held that where constitutional violations are alleged, the courts have the authority to intervene, rejecting the argument that the dispute was merely an internal party matter. Justice Abang stated that judicial intervention was necessary to “prevent anarchy and ensure the survival of democracy in Nigeria,” adding that once constitutional infractions are involved, the protection ordinarily afforded to internal party affairs no longer applies.
The court further held that the congresses and national convention conducted by the Mark-led caretaker leadership were null and void because they were carried out in defiance of an existing court order. It consequently dismissed the appeal filed by the ADC, upheld the restraining order against INEC, and awarded ₦10 million in costs against the party.
Despite the setback, the ADC maintained that the ruling would not invalidate its candidates for the forthcoming elections.
In a statement issued shortly after the judgment, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the decision related solely to the conduct of ward, local government and state executive congresses and had no bearing on the direct primaries through which the party’s candidates emerged. “We wish to assure members of the Party and the general public that this judgment has no effect whatsoever on the direct primaries through which the Party’s candidates have emerged at all levels”, Abdullahi said.
He disclosed that the party had already begun the process of appealing the judgment, describing the appellate court’s decision as “legally unsustainable”.
The ADC also urged its members and supporters to remain calm and focused, reiterating its commitment to providing Nigerians with a credible political alternative while pursuing all available legal remedies in accordance with the Constitution and the rule of law.
