ADC Crisis: Aregbesola Heads to Appeal Court, Challenges Judgment Nullifying Mark-Led Leadership

ADC Crisis: Aregbesola Heads to Appeal Court, Challenges Judgment Nullifying Mark-Led Leadership

The leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has taken another legal turn as the party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, has approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the emergence of the David Mark-led leadership of the party.

Aregbesola is asking the appellate court to overturn the judgment delivered on November 5, 2026, by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, arguing that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the dispute over the party’s leadership.

The former Osun State governor filed a notice of appeal on Friday through his lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

In the appeal, Aregbesola listed former ADC National Deputy Chairman, Nafiu Gombe, the ADC, Senator David Mark, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, as the first to fifth respondents.

He is challenging the lower court’s decision to assume jurisdiction over issues surrounding his emergence as national secretary and the validity of resolutions reached at the party’s 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

Aregbesola also wants the Court of Appeal to set aside the declaration that Gombe’s four-year tenure remained valid and that he was entitled to oversee the affairs of the party.

The appeal contains five grounds, through which his lawyer argued that Justice Lifu made errors in interpreting the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, the 1999 Constitution and the ADC constitution.

One of the central arguments is that the trial judge wrongly assumed jurisdiction over competing claims to the party’s leadership by relying on issues relating to INEC’s statutory oversight responsibilities.

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Aregbesola’s lawyer also faulted the court’s reliance on the absence of a democratic election at the 99th NEC meeting to invalidate his emergence as national secretary.

According to the appellant’s legal team, Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Section 223(1)(a) of the Constitution must be considered alongside Article 23(4) of the ADC constitution.

The lawyer argued that Article 23(4) empowers the appropriate executive organ of the party to appoint an eligible replacement to fill a vacant position pending an election at the next convention or congress.

He maintained that the trial court failed to determine whether Aregbesola’s emergence was an election or an interim appointment permitted under the party’s constitution.

In one of the arguments contained in the appeal, the lawyer stated that the absence of voting did not automatically establish whether the resolutions of the NEC meeting amounted to an election or an interim appointment.

Aregbesola is therefore asking the appellate court to set aside the lower court’s decision and strike out the affected claims if it determines that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction.

Alternatively, he wants the findings invalidating his assumption of office and the disputed NEC resolutions reversed.

He also requested that if the Court of Appeal upholds the lower court’s jurisdiction but considers a fresh hearing necessary, the affected claims should be returned to the Federal High Court for retrial before another judge.

Aregbesola Seeks Stay of Execution

Apart from filing the appeal, Aregbesola has also approached the Federal High Court with a separate application seeking a stay of execution of the November 5 judgment pending the determination of his appeal.

The motion, filed on Saturday and marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, seeks an order restraining the enforcement of, or further consequential actions arising from, Orders 7 and 8 of the judgment.

His lawyer argued that the appeal raises substantial and arguable questions of law and fact, particularly concerning the jurisdiction of the trial court and the interpretation of the ADC constitution and relevant electoral provisions.

The application is intended to prevent the immediate enforcement of the disputed orders while the appellate proceedings continue.

How the ADC Leadership Crisis Started

The dispute followed the resignation of former ADC National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, after which Nafiu Gombe claimed he was constitutionally entitled to assume leadership of the party.

Gombe subsequently approached the Federal High Court, challenging the emergence of the Mark-led leadership and arguing that the process violated the ADC constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.

He asked the court to invalidate decisions taken by the Mark-led leadership and restrain Mark, Aregbesola and other members of the interim National Working Committee from presenting themselves as the party’s legitimate leaders.

However, the Mark-led faction opposed the suit, maintaining that Gombe was no longer serving as deputy national chairman when Nwosu resigned and was therefore not entitled to take over the party’s leadership.

In his November 5 judgment, Justice Lifu ruled against the Mark-led leadership, nullifying the caretaker committee and its decisions, including actions relating to the party’s selection of candidates for the 2027 general election.

The ruling also affected the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the ADC’s presidential candidate.

The ADC had earlier announced that it had separately appealed the judgment and applied for a stay of execution. The party also urged INEC to suspend further action on the leadership dispute pending the determination of the legal challenge.

Aregbesola’s latest move adds another dimension to the dispute, with the party’s leadership and the validity of decisions taken under the Mark-led executive now subject to further judicial proceedings.

 

ADC Crisis: Aregbesola Heads to Appeal Court, Challenges Judgment Nullifying Mark-Led Leadership