ADC Reacts to Appeal Court Judgment on Alleged Sack of Mark and Aregbesola

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has dismissed claims circulating in some quarters that its National Chairman, David Mark, and National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, were removed from office following a recent judgment by the Court of Appeal (Nigeria).

The party described the reports as misleading and inaccurate, insisting that the appellate court did not make any ruling that affects the current leadership of the party.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Bolaji Abdullahi, clarified that the court only addressed procedural issues relating to the case and did not rule on the substantive dispute concerning the leadership of the party.

Abdullahi explained that the case challenging the emergence of Mark as National Chairman and Aregbesola as National Secretary is still pending before the Federal High Court of Nigeria and has not yet been heard on its merits.

“Having carefully studied the judgment, we wish to state unequivocally that the Court of Appeal did not determine the substantive dispute regarding the leadership of the ADC.

“The case challenging the emergence of Senator David Mark as National Chairman and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary is still pending before the Federal High Court and has not yet been heard or decided on its merits.

“Importantly, the Court of Appeal did not grant any relief in favour of the plaintiff, nor did it issue any order affecting the leadership structure of the party. On the contrary, the court ordered that parties should maintain the status quo, meaning that the current state of affairs within the party should remain unchanged pending the determination of the substantive suit.

“Members of the ADC are therefore advised not to panic or be misled by misinterpretations of the judgment.

“The ruling of the Court of Appeal is purely procedural and does not affect the legitimacy or tenure of the current national leadership of the party.

“The ADC remains united and focused despite the antics of anti-democratic forces bent on imposing a one-party rule on Nigeria,” Abdullahi said.

The party maintained that its leadership remains intact and urged members and supporters to disregard any report suggesting otherwise.

According to the statement, the appellate court’s directive to maintain the status quo means that the present leadership structure of the party will remain in place until the matter is fully determined by the Federal High Court.

ADC also stressed that internal legal disagreements should not be interpreted as a collapse of the party’s leadership, noting that the organisation remains stable and focused on its political objectives.