His comments follow a court ruling which restrained the INEC from recognising or participating in any congress organised by the party’s disputed leadership.
A combo of the ADC logo and a courtroom
Legal practitioner and political analyst, Liborous Oshoma, has warned that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) risks being tied down by multiple legal battles at the Supreme Court until just days before the 2027 general election, a situation he says could hamper the party’s preparedness.
Oshoma made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he weighed in on the party’s leadership crisis and the legal battles threatening its electoral prospects.
“They need to make haste. If they do not make haste, then certainly it might become difficult for them, despite the Ibadan Declaration, to even put their house in order,” he said.
“If care is not taken, and we are not prophets of doom, with all the multiplicity of suits, I think these people might just keep ADC busy in Abuja at the Supreme Court until a few days before the election, and it might be too late for them to hit the ground running. Some persons might even decide to abstain from voting, which will not be good for our democracy,” he added.
READ ALSO: [UPDATED] Court Bars INEC From Recognising ADC State Congresses
Advertisement
Despite his concerns, Oshoma noted that the calibre of political heavyweights now associated with the party, including Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, Rauf Aregbesola, and Atiku Abubakar, should ordinarily provide enough political experience to navigate the crisis and avoid procedural loopholes.
The legal expert also dismissed suggestions that courts cannot interfere in the internal affairs of political parties, insisting that judicial intervention becomes necessary when constitutional breaches are alleged.
According to him, the latest court ruling has dealt “another blow” to the ADC by complicating its leadership structure and making it impossible to conduct valid state congresses.
His comments follow a ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, which restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or participating in any congress organised by the party’s disputed leadership.
The court also barred former Senate President David Mark and other key figures from interfering with the tenure and duties of elected state executives.
The suit was filed by ADC state chairpersons who challenged the authority of the party’s interim national leadership, arguing that it lacked constitutional powers to organise congresses or establish committees.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik held that political parties must strictly adhere to their constitutions and that only duly elected party structures can organise such activities.
She further affirmed that the tenure of the current state executives remains valid and restrains party leaders from organising parallel congresses or taking actions outside the party’s constitutional framework.
The ADC is embroiled in a leadership tussle involving rival factions, a crisis that has left the party without a clearly recognised leadership structure following INEC’s intervention.
The Supreme Court is expected to deliver a final ruling on April 30, 2026, a judgment that could determine control of the party.
