Screenshot
Former African Democratic Congress (ADC) National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, has argued that the courts should not determine the leadership of political parties following the Court of Appeal’s ruling on the party’s congresses.
His comments come after the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld an earlier Federal High Court order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising congresses conducted by committees appointed by the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC.
The appellate court also held that the congresses and national convention conducted under that leadership were invalid because they were held despite a subsisting court order. The party has since said it will challenge the judgement at the Supreme Court, maintaining that the ruling concerns only its congresses and does not affect the direct primaries that produced its candidates for the 2027 general election.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Tuesday, Nwosu maintained that the judiciary should not interfere in the internal affairs of political parties, insisting the ADC’s national leadership remains valid.
He said: “The Supreme Court has ruled time and time again that matters concerning the leadership of any political party are not for the court to decide. Because we are getting to a part where the court will now decide who becomes president and the political parties and everything, and that becomes useless.”
Nwosu described the legal battle over the party’s leadership as political interference.
He said: “So what is happening is basically political rascality. Politicians, the men of the moment, thinking that they can wield the very hard rod and beat everybody to their whims.”
The former ADC chairman also insisted that the process that produced the party’s current National Working Committee remains valid.
According to him, “A court of competent jurisdiction has confirmed that David Mark and the current NWC are properly elected. And that is in place until any other court changes that. Apart from that, we are operating based on our constitution and also the guidelines of INEC.”
Nwosu maintained that the Court of Appeal’s judgement dealt with the party’s congresses and not its national leadership or candidate nomination process.
He said: “The Appeal Court of yesterday (Monday) talked about the congresses, not about the primaries, and not about the leadership of the party.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
