By Prevail Inegbenose
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court restraining the African Democratic Congress (ADC) from dissolving its State Working Committees (SWCs) and conducting state congresses under its caretaker leadership.
In a split judgment delivered by a three-member panel, two justices upheld the decision of the lower court, while one justice dissented.
Justices Okon Abang and Donatus Okorowo, who delivered the majority judgment, held that the Federal High Court rightly assumed jurisdiction because the dispute centred on an alleged breach of the ADC Constitution and Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution regarding the tenure of state party officials.
The appellate court ruled that the state chairmen were entitled to seek judicial protection against attempts to terminate their four-year tenure before its expiration, adding that allowing the party leadership to disregard its constitution would undermine democratic principles.
The court also awarded N10 million in costs against the appellants—ADC, Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola—in favour of the state chairmen.
However, the Presiding Justice, Abba Bello Mohammed, dissented, holding that the appointment and removal of party officials remain internal affairs of a political party and therefore fall outside the jurisdiction of the courts.
Justice Mohammed further held that six of the seven respondents failed to establish their legal standing by not identifying themselves as state chairmen or disclosing the states they represented. He also noted that the party’s internal dispute resolution mechanism ought to have been exhausted before litigation.
The appeal challenged an earlier judgment by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which restrained the ADC leadership from dissolving the State Working Committees and replacing them through planned state congresses.
The suit was instituted by seven ADC state chairmen, acting for themselves and on behalf of all state chairmen and State Executive Committees of the party. They argued that their four-year tenure remained valid under the party’s constitution and that the caretaker committee lacked constitutional authority to appoint congress committees or conduct state congresses.
They also sought judicial interpretation of the party’s constitution and Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution, contending that the actions of the caretaker committee were unconstitutional and therefore null and void.
With the Court of Appeal’s majority decision, the Federal High Court’s order restraining the dissolution of the ADC State Working Committees and the conduct of state congresses under the caretaker leadership remains in force.