The All Progressives Congress has dismissed allegations linking it to the leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress, urging the faction led by Senator David Mark to address its internal disputes rather than engage in what it described as “senseless rants” against the ruling party.
The APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, made the remarks in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday, insisting that the ruling party had no involvement in the legal dispute that resulted in the removal of the Mark-led ADC leadership. “To be clear, APC is neither a party nor an interlocutor in the matter. Nothing about the case has anything to do with the APC. And the APC has absolutely no role in the party’s judicial quagmire,” he said.
The controversy followed a judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which removed the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC and invalidated its official decisions. The ruling also affected the faction’s electoral processes and outcomes, including its presidential nomination process involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
Morka maintained that the legal battle originated within the ADC, explaining that the case was instituted by the party’s national officers against the faction whose leadership has now been removed. He described the litigation as “a notorious case initiated by leaders of ADC against pirate leaders of ADC.”
The APC spokesman further alleged that Mark and his political associates assumed control of the ADC primarily to advance Atiku Abubakar’s presidential aspirations. He argued that the faction disregarded established party procedures and democratic principles in pursuing its political objectives.
According to Morka, “it didn’t matter to them that their hostile takeover of that party was in flagrant violation of the rule of law and ADC’s internal democracy, as a court of competent jurisdiction has now declared.”
He also criticised the faction’s response to judicial pronouncements, accusing its members of questioning the integrity of the judiciary whenever court decisions go against them while celebrating judicial independence when the outcomes are favourable.
“Every time a court decides against the Senator David Mark-led factional African Democratic Congress, they accuse the All Progressives Congress 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.
Morka argued that such conduct demonstrated a disregard for the judicial institution and its constitutional responsibilities, stressing that an independent judiciary remained fundamental to democratic governance.
He said the faction’s actions reflected “no iota of regard for the authority and independence of the judiciary, an indispensable pillar of any democracy.”
Reacting specifically to Thursday’s judgment, the APC spokesman maintained that the court’s decision was a consequence of the faction’s own actions rather than political interference by the ruling party. He described the outcome as evidence that Nigeria’s judicial system remained capable of upholding the rule of law.
Morka said the judgment “was procured by their own lawlessness and demonstrates the vibrancy of the rule of law and independence of the judiciary in Nigeria.”
He concluded by accusing the affected ADC leaders of refusing to acknowledge responsibility for the crisis, insisting that the court’s decision merely affirmed the consequences of their actions.
According to him, the ADC faction’s leaders “take no responsibility or accountability for the self-inflicted injury that the court only judicially certified.”
