Rauf Aregbesola, the National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has formally appealed a Federal High Court judgment that nullified the party’s leadership under David Mark. The appeal, filed on Friday through Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mohammed Sheriff, seeks to overturn the decision delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In his notice of appeal, Aregbesola argued that the lower court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit. He listed Nafiu Gombe, the ADC, David Mark, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Ralph Nwosu as respondents. The appellant urged the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment, which had assumed jurisdiction over claims regarding Aregbesola’s emergence as national secretary and the validity of resolutions passed at the party’s 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
The legal challenge centers on the interpretation of the ADC constitution and the Electoral Act. Sheriff contended that Justice Lifu erred in law by using INEC’s statutory oversight to determine competing leadership claims. The lawyer argued that the judge incorrectly applied provisions governing elections to fill vacancies, specifically Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 and Section 223(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution, without first addressing whether Aregbesola’s appointment was an interim measure permitted under Article 23(4) of the ADC constitution.
“The absence of voting did not resolve whether the resolutions effected an election or an interim appointment under the provision relied upon by the appellant,” Sheriff argued, adding that the lower court failed to resolve the nature of the appointment before applying election requirements.
Alongside the appeal, Aregbesola filed a separate motion on notice on Saturday seeking a stay of execution of the November 5 judgment. The application, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, requests an order restraining the enforcement of specific orders from the judgment pending the hearing of the appeal. Sheriff asserted that the case raises substantial questions of law and fact regarding the trial court’s jurisdiction and the interpretation of relevant statutory provisions.
The dispute originated when Nafiu Gombe approached the Federal High Court, claiming he was constitutionally entitled to assume leadership following Ralph Nwosu’s resignation as national chairman. On November 5, Justice Lifu ruled in Gombe’s favor, nullifying the Mark-led caretaker committee and its decisions, including the process that selected Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election. The ADC has also urged INEC to suspend further action on the leadership dispute until the appeal is determined.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
