Abuja, FCT, NIGERIA — The Supreme Court of Nigeria has delivered a definitive ruling in the leadership tussle within the African Democratic Congress (ADC), reaffirming Senator David Mark as the authentic National Chairman.
In a unanimous verdict delivered on Thursday, the five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba set aside the status quo ante bellum order previously issued by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
The apex court held that the appellate court’s intervention was “unnecessary” and noted that the appeal regarding jurisdiction had been filed improperly without obtaining the required leave of the court. This judgment effectively halts the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) delisting of the David Mark-led executive, restoring administrative control to his faction just weeks before the critical primary election deadline.
Okay News reports that the ruling brings much-needed clarity to a party that was recently described as being in a state of “leadership paralysis” by legal counsel Shaibu Enejoh Aruwa, SAN.
While the ADC celebrates this judicial clarity, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has continued his administrative “reset” by appointing Olasunkanmi Tegbe as the Minister of Power. This appointment follows the earlier naming of Lanre Babalola as Special Adviser on Power Tegbe, a former senior partner at KPMG, is expected to lead the ministry’s coordination with the newly formed Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset.
