Nigeria’s governing All Progressives Congress has urged the African Democratic Congress to resolve its internal disputes rather than hold the APC responsible for setbacks arising from court rulings.
In a statement issued on Friday and signed by National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka, the APC responded to allegations made by the ADC following a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja that removed the David Mark-led party leadership and voided its decisions, including the primary process that selected Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate.
The ADC had alleged that the APC worked with the judiciary to secure the judgment. The ruling party dismissed that claim as baseless.
The APC said the Mark faction repeatedly alleges judicial collusion whenever courts issue decisions against it, accusing the group of attacking the judiciary rather than accepting adverse verdicts.
It argued that the ADC appears to seek political power and the opportunity to govern Nigeria while disregarding the independence and authority of the judiciary, which it described as a fundamental institution in a democratic system.
The APC said the opposition party treats only rulings in its favour as legitimate, while portraying judges and courts that reach different conclusions as threats to society.
It said the legal case that triggered the ADC’s crisis was brought by ADC leaders against what it called pirate leaders within the ADC, stressing that the APC was neither a litigant nor an intervening party in the proceedings.
The governing party said the suit was initiated by national officers of the ADC who had been victimised by what it described as David Mark and his associates’ open seizure of the party’s leadership structure to advance Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambitions.
According to the APC, Mark’s group disregarded the law and the ADC’s own democratic procedures during its takeover, conduct that the court has now ruled was unlawful.
It said the faction was responding angrily to the court and to uninvolved observers over what it called an unavoidable judicial consequence of a reckless political venture.
“They make wild and irrational claims and circulate conspiracy theories, yet refuse to accept responsibility or accountability for the damage they caused themselves, which the court merely confirmed through its ruling,” the APC said.
The party said Justice Peter Lifu’s decision removing the Mark-led leadership and cancelling the party’s primary-election procedures and results was a consequence of the faction’s own disregard for the law. It added that the ruling demonstrated the strength of Nigeria’s legal order and the judiciary’s independence.
The APC said that, if the ADC disagrees with the verdict, it should challenge it at the Court of Appeal rather than direct partisan attacks at the governing party or issue threats that could encourage disorder among Nigerians whom it says it seeks to govern.
It described the ADC as a declining party that has repeatedly shown itself unworthy of serious consideration by Nigerian voters.
“A party unable to put its own house in order cannot be expected to repair Africa’s most significant country,” the APC said.
The APC added that it and the Tinubu administration remain focused on protecting Nigeria’s democratic system, respecting the rule of law and providing effective government for citizens, and said they would not be distracted by what it called the alarm raised by a struggling opposition.
