Court Rules On David Mark’s ADC National Chairman Role

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has affirmed Senator David Mark as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), bringing an end to a legal challenge against the party’s current leadership. According to court proceedings, Justice Musa Liman dismissed a suit filed by Representative Leke Abejide, who sought to invalidate the emergence of David Mark as national chairman and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the party’s national secretary.

The court upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, its former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, David Mark and Aregbesola, ruling that the case lacked merit. Justice Liman held that the court had no jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of a political party, stressing that Abejide failed to establish that his legal rights were infringed by the emergence of the new leadership.

The judge further ruled that the transfer of the party’s leadership from Nwosu to Mark did not contravene the ADC constitution. He explained that the stakeholders’ meeting held on July 2, 2025, laid the groundwork for the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting conducted on July 29, 2025, where Mark and Aregbesola officially emerged as the party’s national chairman and national secretary.

Justice Liman declared that the process leading to their emergence complied with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the Electoral Act and the ADC constitution, affirming the legitimacy of the current leadership.

The court also ordered Abejide to pay ₦2 million in costs to each of the defendants. In addition, the judge imposed a ₦10 million cost against Abejide’s counsel, citing compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

Abejide had approached the court seeking to nullify the transfer of the party’s leadership to Mark and Aregbesola and to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising them, but the court dismissed all his claims.