The All Democratic Alliance (ADA) has been plunged into a fresh leadership crisis following a Federal High Court judgment that mandates the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to grant a specific faction access to the party’s registration portal.
The ADA leadership has formally rejected the ruling, delivered on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu, and has vowed to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.
In his judgment, Justice Lifu ordered INEC to generate and release a registration access code to a faction led by Chief Akin Ricketts within 72 hours. Furthermore, the court directed the electoral commission to reopen its registration portal for a period of one week, allowing this faction to upload its membership register and other statutory documents required for political party registration.
Justice Lifu held that INEC acted unlawfully by previously issuing the registration access code to Dr. Umar Ardo. The court ruled that Dr. Ardo was neither the recognised Protem National Chairman nor the Protem Secretary of the association, subsequently nullifying all actions and documentation submitted by his leadership.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADA, Leye Igbabo, characterised the judgment as an “abuse of judicial process.” He confirmed that the party has instructed its legal team to file a formal notice of appeal and an application for a stay of execution to prevent the implementation of the court’s order.
The association’s core objection rests on the membership status of the plaintiffs. The ADA contends that Chief Akin Ricketts and his associates have since defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and, therefore, lack the legal standing to represent or exert control over the ADA.
“The judgment seeks to hand over the party’s affairs to individuals who are no longer members of the organisation,” the statement read.
The ADA further clarified that the court’s order does not equate to the registration of the ADA itself, but rather directs INEC to permit the Ricketts-led faction to resume a registration process which the party claims is already complete.
According to the party, the current National Executive Committee, led by Prince Uche Secondus and Dr. Umar Ardo, has already concluded all necessary registration procedures. The association claims that these leadership changes were formally communicated to, and acknowledged by, INEC. Consequently, the ADA argues that attempting to restart the registration process is both unnecessary and legally improper.
The party warned that complying with the judgment would effectively impose an external leadership on the association and jeopardise a process that has already been finalised. As the legal battle shifts to the Court of Appeal, the ADA has expressed confidence that the judiciary will ultimately overturn the lower court’s decision, maintaining that their established leadership remains the sole legitimate authority over the party’s affairs.
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