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 any state congresses organised by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) leadership led by David Mark.
In the lead judgment, Justice Okon Abang ruled that “the
trial court decision to grant the reliefs sought by the 1st to 7th respondents
is in order,” adding that the ADC state chairmen are entitled to a four-year
tenure as provided for in the party’s constitution.
The case was filed by seven ADC state chairmen, who
represented themselves as well as other state chairmen and state executive
committees of the party. They argued that the David Mark-led leadership had no
constitutional authority to organise state congresses or appoint congress
committees while their elected tenure was still subsisting.
They asked the court to declare that only duly constituted
state executive committees could organise state congresses and urged it to
restrain INEC from recognising any congress conducted by the party’s interim
leadership.
Earlier, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court
ruled that the ADC’s elected State Working Committees remained the party’s
recognised officials. She held that, under the party’s constitution, they, and
not the National Working Committee, have the authority to organise state
congresses and manage the party’s affairs at the state level.
David Mark, the party’s National Chairman, and National
Secretary Rauf Aregbesola challenged the decision at the Court of Appeal,
asking it to set aside the lower court’s ruling.
However, the appellate court agreed with the Federal High
Court that the matter was not an internal party affair beyond the court’s
jurisdiction.
Justice Donatus Okorowo also held that the appeal lacked
merit and affirmed the decision of the lower court.
The Court of Appeal noted that the appellants failed to rely
on recent Supreme Court judgments in similar cases involving the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP), which confirmed that courts may intervene where
political parties violate their own constitutions.
The court further held that the state chairmen were right to
approach the Federal High Court because the party’s internal mechanism could
not fairly resolve a dispute involving those already in control of its
leadership.
The justices concluded that the elected state chairmen
remain entitled to complete their four-year tenure under the ADC constitution
and that only those recognised party structures have the authority to conduct
state congresses.
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