The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has vowed to challenge a Federal High Court judgment affecting its leadership, insisting that the ruling will not stop the party from pursuing its political activities or undermine former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s ambition to contest the 2027 presidential election.
An ADC chieftain and Director of Media and Publicity at the Atiku Campaign Council, Kola Ologbondiyan, disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
Ologbondiyan said the party’s legal team had filed a notice of appeal and was studying the certified true copy of the judgment to determine its implications and the next steps.
The ruling reportedly directs the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Nafiu Bala Gombe as the valid national chairman of the ADC.
However, Ologbondiyan rejected interpretations suggesting that the judgment automatically invalidates all actions taken by the party under the leadership of Senator David Mark.
He argued that the ADC had been operating under an earlier subsisting Federal High Court judgment recognising Mark as its national chairman and questioned how a court of equal jurisdiction could invalidate actions taken in compliance with that decision.
The ADC chieftain also disputed the suggestion that the judgment had effectively shut Atiku out of the 2027 presidential race, noting that the former vice president was not expressly mentioned in the ruling.
He said the party would rely on its lawyers to determine the legal consequences of the judgment, adding that Bala Gombe was not part of the party’s processes for selecting its presidential candidate or conducting state primaries.
Ologbondiyan further questioned the forensic findings reportedly used to determine that a resignation letter attributed to Bala was forged. He challenged the basis of the conclusion and maintained that the letter was genuine and signed by Bala.
The ADC chieftain accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu’s administration of attempting to prevent Atiku from appearing on the ballot in 2027. He also alleged that the growing support for the ADC had unsettled the ruling party.
He did not provide independent evidence to substantiate the allegations.
Despite the legal dispute, Ologbondiyan said the ADC would continue its political activities and campaigns, including taking its message to the streets if it was denied access to venues.
He also said the party had repeatedly petitioned the National Judicial Council over concerns about the handling of the case and would continue to pursue its grievances through established legal channels.
Ologbondiyan urged the president and APC leaders not to take actions capable of destabilising the country, warning against allowing the dispute to escalate into a national crisis.
The ADC's planned appeal means the legal dispute over its leadership remains unresolved, with the party maintaining that its political activities and preparations for the 2027 elections should continue while the judicial process takes its course.
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