Ogun ADC rejects caretaker committee

By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta Ogun State chapter of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has rejected the purported establishment of caretaker committees and the appointment of parallel state chairman. They insisted that the executive committee led by Otunba Oluwafemi Soluade remains the legitimate leadership structure of the party in the state. The party, in a press statement issued on Saturday, by its Publicity Secretary, Adesina Olanrewaju, described the alleged move to introduce alternative leadership arrangements as an affront to internal democracy, constitutional order and the rule of law.

The statement was titled ‘Enough of the Political Arrogance! Ogun ADC Is Not a Personal Estate: We Reject Illegal Caretaker Arrangements and Reaffirm the Otunba Oluwafemi Soluade-Led Executive Committee’. They maintained that no individual, regardless of political influence or position, had the authority to unilaterally dismantle the party’s established structures in Ogun State.

The party specifically cautioned against attempts to impose a caretaker committee without the requisite constitutional authority, proper national authorisation and compliance with the ADC’s established procedures. It particularly mentioned Chief Rauf Aregbesola, insisting that neither he nor any other individual could assume the power to impose a caretaker arrangement on the state chapter, outside the party’s constitutional framework.

“Ogun State is not a political playground, neither is the ADC in Ogun State anybody’s personal estate where decisions can be imposed through arrogance, intimidation or unilateral administrative pronouncements,” the statement declared. The party further argued that political influence should not be used to override established democratic procedures, warning that it would resist any attempt to create parallel leadership structures capable of weakening its existing institutions Reaffirming its position, the Ogun ADC described the executive committee led by Soluade as the legitimate structure whose authority and tenure it was determined to defend.

According to the statement, an elected party structure cannot be discarded merely because some individuals desire a different leadership arrangement to advance their political interests. “You cannot build a political party on the foundation of democracy and subsequently destroy that same foundation because the existing leadership does not serve the political interests of certain individuals,” it said.

The party maintained that it would not recognise parallel leadership arrangements allegedly designed to create confusion, undermine established institutions or impose new officers through the back door. To support its position, the Ogun ADC referred to judicial pronouncements arising from disputes over the constitutionality of caretaker arrangements and the tenure of elected party executives.

Cites court rulings It cited Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/581/2026, in which the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, reportedly delivered judgment on April 29, 2026, affirming the subsisting tenure of ADC State Working and Executive Committees. According to the statement, the court restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from recognising or participating in state congresses organised by the caretaker leadership.

It also held, according to the party, that the caretaker/interim National Working Committee lacked the constitutional authority to appoint committees to conduct such congresses. The statement disclosed that the judgment was subsequently challenged at the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/608/2026, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal and upheld the restrictions against congresses organised outside the party’s constitutional framework.

The Ogun chapter also relied on the November 3, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan in Suit No. FHC/IB/CS/50/2026, presided over by Justice U.N. Agomoh, pointing out that the court declared the purported interim executive committee led by Afeez Adelowo Jimoh as illegal and affirmed the four-year tenure of the Yinka Olona-led Oyo State Executive Committee.

The party explained that the Ibadan judgment relied on Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and relevant provisions of the ADC Constitution. Describing the judicial decisions as binding pronouncements that must be respected, the Ogun ADC warned against treating court judgments as optional directives that could be obeyed or disregarded according to political convenience.