ADC CRISIS: CHENDAN DEFENDS JUDICIARY, SAYS PARTY’S LEADERSHIP DISPUTE DATES BACK TO 2022f

By: Labaran Ahmed 

Says Atiku’s Group Inherited Legal Dispute, Insists National Convention Remains Only Lawful Route to Leadership

Hon. Solomon Nandy Chendan CCFE, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has defended the judiciary over the ongoing leadership crisis rocking the party, arguing that the dispute predates the political realignments involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and has its roots in events dating back to 2022.

Chendan, in a statement titled "ADC: Before You Blame Tinubu or the Judiciary, Read the Facts," said attempts to blame President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the judiciary for the party's current challenges were misplaced, insisting that a proper understanding of the crisis required examining its historical and legal background.

He maintained that the ADC leadership dispute did not originate under the current administration but emerged from an internal disagreement over the tenure and leadership of the party's former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.

According to him, the crisis intensified in September 2022 when 27 out of the party's 32 state chairmen reportedly passed a vote of no confidence in Nwosu, accusing him of remaining in office beyond his constitutionally recognised tenure of four years, which allegedly expired on August 28, 2022.

Chendan explained that the aggrieved state chairmen subsequently rejected Nwosu's continued leadership, dissolved his National Working Committee and supported the establishment of a caretaker arrangement to oversee the party's affairs pending a new national convention.

He further alleged that Nwosu convened an emergency National Executive Committee meeting and extended his tenure despite the objections of state chairmen and other party stakeholders, a development that eventually resulted in litigation at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The ADC chieftain recalled that on December 20, 2022, Justice Binta Nyako reportedly delivered a judgment against Nwosu, nullifying the tenure extension and invalidating actions taken by his executive committee after August 2022.

He said the judgment also affirmed Senator Patricia Akwashiki, who was backed by the state chairmen as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, as the recognised figure to steer the party towards a new national convention.

Chendan argued that the 2022 judgment was central to understanding the current disagreement, particularly following the entry of Atiku Abubakar and other political figures into the ADC in 2025.

He questioned the legal authority under which Nwosu allegedly facilitated the transfer or restructuring of the party's leadership arrangements to accommodate the new political entrants, considering that his tenure extension and subsequent actions had reportedly been nullified by the court.

"The fundamental question is: if Nwosu had no legal authority to act on behalf of the ADC after August 2022, on what legal basis could he hand over the party's structure in 2025?" Chendan queried.

He maintained that the issue was fundamentally legal rather than political, arguing that the principle that nobody can transfer an authority or property they do not legally possess should guide the interpretation of the ongoing dispute.

The ADC chieftain also drew attention to the party's constitution, particularly its provisions governing the emergence of national officers, insisting that only a properly constituted national convention has the authority to elect the party's national executive leadership.

According to him, the emergence of a National Working Committee cannot be legitimised merely through press conferences, political endorsements or the unveiling of individuals brought into the party without following the procedures established by its constitution.

He warned that allowing wealthy political interests to assume control of political parties without respecting established internal democratic procedures could undermine party democracy and weaken the rights of longstanding members.

Chendan further argued that the judiciary's intervention should be viewed as an effort to protect the constitutional rights of party members rather than an attempt to frustrate individuals joining the ADC for political purposes.

On Atiku's political choices, he suggested that the former vice president had alternative platforms available before settling for the ADC.

He specifically referenced claims that former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai had prepared the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as a possible political platform for Atiku, while a panel associated with former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi had reportedly recommended the formation of a new political party.

Chendan argued that Atiku's decision to embrace an existing party already embroiled in a leadership dispute exposed his political camp to avoidable legal complications.

He said it was therefore unreasonable to blame the judiciary for a crisis whose origins and legal proceedings predated Atiku's entry into the party.

Addressing the Supreme Court's earlier intervention, which he said returned the matter to the High Court for trial, Chendan cautioned against interpreting the procedural decision as a final victory for either faction.

He explained that the referral was an instruction for the lower court to hear and determine the substantive issues, stressing that the eventual judgment should be understood within the normal judicial process.

He accused some political actors of celebrating judicial procedures when they appeared favourable to their interests but condemning the same institution when decisions went against them.

In his concluding remarks, Chendan rejected suggestions that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was responsible for the ADC leadership crisis, maintaining that the President neither created the party's internal disagreement in 2022 nor authored its constitution or the judgment delivered by the Federal High Court.

He also argued that Tinubu could not be held responsible for Atiku's political decisions, including his alleged rejection of alternative platforms before joining the ADC.

Describing the current situation as the consequence of building a political arrangement on an already disputed foundation, Chendan called on all factions to pursue a lawful resolution through a properly organised national convention in accordance with the party's constitution.

He stressed that the future of the ADC should be determined by its legitimate members through established democratic procedures rather than financial influence, media publicity or the imposition of political structures.

"Anyone who bought ADC after the 2022 dispute bought a lawsuit, not a party," he declared.