APC Defends Judiciary, Challenges ADC Over Court Ruling

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has challenged the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to resolve its internal leadership crisis rather than blame the ruling party for the court judgment that removed the Senator David Mark-led faction from the party’s leadership.

The APC said the legal dispute was an internal matter arising from disagreements among ADC members and had nothing to do with the ruling party.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, stated this in a statement issued on Friday, accusing the opposition party of discrediting the judiciary whenever court decisions went against its interests.

Morka said the ADC had adopted a contradictory position by celebrating judicial independence when judgments favoured it but questioning the integrity of the courts when decisions went against its leadership.

He accused the party of making unsubstantiated allegations of APC interference in its affairs instead of taking responsibility for the circumstances that led to the legal dispute.

“Every time a court decides against the Senator David Mark-led factional African Democratic Congress (ADC), they accuse the All Progressives Congress (APC) of collusion and deprecate the judiciary.

“Every time a court decides in their favour, they hail the rule of law and extol the judiciary,” he said.

The APC spokesman maintained that the ruling party was neither a party to the case nor involved in the legal proceedings that resulted in the removal of the Mark-led leadership.

He explained that the suit was instituted by aggrieved national officers of the ADC who challenged what he described as the takeover of the party’s leadership by Mark and his associates.

According to Morka, the disputed leadership arrangement was allegedly orchestrated to advance the presidential ambition of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, without regard for the party’s internal democratic processes.

He said the Federal High Court judgment had affirmed the concerns raised by the aggrieved party officials and demonstrated that political parties were not above the law.

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on Thursday sacked the David Mark-led ADC leadership and nullified official actions taken by the faction, including its primary election processes and outcomes.

Morka described the ruling as a demonstration of the independence of the judiciary, arguing that the ADC should exercise its constitutional right of appeal if dissatisfied with the decision.

He cautioned the opposition party against what he called partisan attacks on the APC and statements capable of heightening political tension.

“If ADC is dissatisfied with that decision, it should exercise its constitutional right of appeal rather than engage in partisan mudslinging against our great Party and issuing threats to incite anarchy against the same Nigerians they claim they desire to govern,” he said.

The APC spokesman also questioned the ADC’s capacity to govern the country, arguing that its inability to resolve its internal leadership disagreements raised concerns about its preparedness to manage national affairs.

He said a political party aspiring to lead Nigeria should demonstrate its ability to manage its internal structures and disagreements in accordance with democratic principles.

“A party that cannot fix itself cannot possibly fix Africa’s most important country,” Morka said.

He, however, reaffirmed the APC’s commitment to protecting democratic institutions, upholding the rule of law and supporting the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Morka said the party remained undeterred by what he described as provocative statements from the opposition.