Ardo ADA faction rejects court ruling, heads to Appeal over leadership dispute

The All Democratic Alliance (ADA) has rejected the recent judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja over its leadership dispute, describing the decision as an attempt to hand control of the association to individuals it claims no longer belong to the organisation.

The association made its position known on Tuesday, a day after the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release the party registration access code to the Chief Akin Ricketts-led faction.

ADA disclosed that it has instructed its legal team to challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal and has filed an application seeking an immediate stay of execution to halt enforcement of the ruling.

According to the association, implementing the judgment could disrupt a registration process it insists has already been concluded and create unnecessary confusion within its leadership structure.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Leye Igbabo, ADA argued that the court did not direct INEC to register the association as a political party but merely ordered the release of the registration access code to Chief Ricketts.

“For clarity, the Court did not order the Independent National Electoral Commission to register the All Democratic Alliance as a political party. Rather, the Court directed INEC to release the registration access code to Chief Akin Ricketts to recommence the registration process.

“The change in the leadership of the Association was effectively and formally communicated to INEC before now, and the Commission had acknowledged and deemed the change to have been effected accordingly.

“Consequently, the registration process has since been completed by the Prince Uche Secondus- and Dr Umar Ardo-led National Executive Committee,” the statement read.

The association maintained that Chief Ricketts and other members of his camp had already moved on politically and no longer possess legitimate authority to act on behalf of ADA.

It argued that restoring the registration process to the Ricketts faction would effectively reverse decisions already taken and legitimise what it described as external interference in the affairs of the association.

ADA further warned that enforcing the judgment would undermine its internal leadership structure by handing control of the organisation to individuals who have ceased to participate in its activities.

“It is not only an abuse of process, but also vexatious and obnoxious. The effect of the judgment, if implemented, is to hand over the ADA to persons who have abandoned the Association,” the statement added.

Despite the setback, the association expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal would overturn the ruling, adding that its substantive appeal has already been fixed for hearing.

The controversy follows Monday’s judgment by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which directed INEC to generate and release the registration access code to the Akin Ricketts-led leadership within 72 hours.

The court also ordered the electoral commission to reopen its registration portal for one week to enable the faction upload its membership register and other statutory documents required for party registration.

Justice Lifu held that INEC acted unlawfully when it issued the registration access code to Dr Umar Ardo, ruling that Ardo was neither the recognised Protem National Chairman nor the Protem Secretary of the association at the time.

The court consequently nullified all documents and actions connected to Ardo in the party registration process.

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