The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has assembled a formidable legal team comprising 97 lawyers to challenge what it describes as a fraudulent lawsuit orchestrated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against its interim leadership, which includes former Senate President David Mark and former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.

 

The development was announced in Abuja on Tuesday by Barrister Mohammed Sheriff, head of the ADC’s national legal support team. Sheriff accused the APC of filing a baseless legal suit using the names of individuals who are neither members nor representatives of the ADC.

 

This move follows a high-level stakeholders meeting in Abuja between Senator David Mark, who currently serves as the ADC’s Interim National Chairman, and representatives from the party’s Kogi State chapter.

 

During the meeting, Senator Mark reaffirmed his commitment to fairness and inclusivity within the party. He emphasized that the ADC, under his leadership, would operate with complete transparency and neutrality, especially in its approach to the upcoming presidential elections.

 

“I don’t own this party more than any other member,” Mark stated. “All Nigerians must come together and take ownership of the ADC.”

 

He called on party members to put aside internal disputes and work toward building a united political platform. He warned that the country’s democracy could be in jeopardy if citizens continue to remain disengaged from the political process.

 

Senator Mark also criticized the APC, urging the ruling party to focus on addressing its own governance failures rather than engaging in politically motivated attacks.

 

“If they admitted that insecurity was bad and promised to improve it—but instead made it worse—should Nigerians still support them? The answer is no,” he said.

 

The ADC further alleged that investigations had revealed the plaintiffs listed in the APC-backed lawsuit were not registered members of the party in either Kogi or Nasarawa State.

 

“It smacks of desperation that a party entrusted with leading over 200 million Nigerians would engage in such dishonesty,” the party stated in a press release.

 

Senator Mark used the platform to issue a rallying call for national unity and urged Nigerians to support the ADC’s vision of a reformed, people-first democracy.

 

“Let us work together to rebuild this nation for future generations,” he said.

 

Barrister Sheriff confirmed that 97 legal practitioners had volunteered to defend the party’s integrity and resist what he described as a politically motivated legal onslaught from the APC.