By Idriss LAWAL
A Nigerian court has upheld David Mark-led ADC leadership, dismissing a suit challenging his emergence as the party’s national chairman.
In a judgement delivered on Thursday, Justice Musa Liman ruled that the suit filed by House of Representatives member Leke Abejide lacked merit and upheld the preliminary objections raised by the ADC, its former national chairman Ralph Nwosu, Mark and former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, who serves as the party’s national secretary.
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of the political party, describing the dispute as non-justiciable. Justice Liman further ruled that Abejide had no legal standing to institute the action because he failed to demonstrate that his rights had been violated by the emergence of the current leadership.
The judge also found that the lawmaker did not exhaust the ADC’s internal dispute resolution mechanisms before approaching the court.
Justice Liman resolved all the issues raised in the substantive suit in favour of the respondents, holding that the process that produced Mark and Aregbesola complied with the party’s constitution and relevant electoral laws.
