The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has declared its intention to appeal the Federal High Court ruling, which nullified the Senator David Mark-led National Working Committee (NWC), maintaining that the ruling cannot stand the test of legal scrutiny.
The National Legal Adviser of the party, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor, stated this on Thursday during an appearance on Politics Today, a current affairs programme on Channels Television.
Osunbor, a former Governor of Edo State, expressed strong optimism that the Court of Appeal will set aside the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
He noted that neither the party’s standard-bearer nor its presidential campaign machinery has been disrupted by the pronouncement, asserting that the party remains focused because the decision rests on shaky legal grounds.
Osunbor recalled that a spokesperson for the party’s presidential campaign council had described the court ruling as a panicked reaction to the mammoth crowds that attended the recent launch of the ADC’s presidential campaign rallies.
According to him, the legal challenge is a calculated attempt to distract Nigerians from the ongoing nationwide campaign and potentially derail the party’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of presiding over broad developmental failures, Osunbor noted that the administration has consistently deflected blame, with President Bola Tinubu frequently telling citizens to hold their state governors accountable whenever questioned on national socioeconomic challenges.
He maintained that Atiku has continued to offer Nigerians genuine solutions, including the pledge to reinstate petroleum subsidies, which he identified as the primary catalyst behind the severe cost-of-living crisis across the country.
Faulting Justice Lifu’s judicial track record, Osunbor claimed the judge had become notorious among the public for delivering contentious rulings, citing an earlier unanimous Court of Appeal decision that rebuked the jurist for judicial impertinence and rascality.
The legal adviser stressed that the ADC draws confidence from two subsisting Federal High Court judgments that have already affirmed the legitimacy of the David Mark-led NWC, notably the suit filed by Hon. Leke Abejide, which was dismissed in favour of the current party leadership.
Osunbor argued that the prior determinations should have put the matter to rest, noting that the Supreme Court has repeatedly condemned the delivery of conflicting rulings by courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
He said Justice Lifu’s decision directly contradicts existing judgments of coordinate benches—an anomaly that was formally brought to the court’s attention during proceedings but was disregarded.
Recounting the genesis of the suit, Osunbor explained that the case was initially filed by one Matthew Gombe before Justice Emeka Nwite, who directed the ADC to show cause why the plaintiff should not be declared the substantive national chairman, before Gombe subsequently sought a reassignment of the matter to another court.
He disclosed that the ADC had on May 7 petitioned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, warning of an alleged forum-shopping maneuver by the plaintiff and urging the head of the court to decline the reassignment request, before the case was ultimately re-assigned to Justice Lifu.
- Media Report