Court declares Jimi Lawal authentic Ogun ADC governorship candidate

A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Thursday declared Jimi Adebisi Lawal as the authentic governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, for the forthcoming Ogun State governorship election.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Abiodun Adeyemi, resolved the protracted leadership and candidature dispute that had divided the party into rival factions, each laying claim to the governorship ticket.

Lawal, a close associate of former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, secured the legal victory after the court held that his emergence as the party’s candidate complied with the provisions of the Electoral Act and the ADC constitution.

The suit, marked FHC/AB/CS/97/2026, challenged the legitimacy of the governorship primary that produced multiple factional candidates.

In his judgment, Justice Adeyemi ruled that the primary election which produced Lawal was validly conducted and duly monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The court held that the exercise complied with all statutory requirements and remained the only lawful governorship primary recognised under the law.

Consequently, the court declared Lawal the authentic governorship candidate of the ADC in Ogun State and directed INEC to accord him full recognition by reflecting his name in its official records as the party’s flag bearer.

Reacting to the judgment, the Ogun State Chairman of the ADC, Femi Soluade, described the ruling as a victory for democracy and an opportunity to unite the party ahead of the governorship election.

“For us, the soul of the party is what is most important. We have decided that there will be no victor and no vanquished. We must be magnanimous in victory because those on the other side remain our brothers and sisters.”

He said the party would immediately begin efforts to reconcile aggrieved members and strengthen its structures ahead of the election.

Also speaking after the judgment, Lawal described the verdict as an act of divine intervention following months of uncertainty over the party’s primary election, maintaining that he had won the primary election convincingly but endured months of anxiety over the dispute.

“I have had sleepless nights since May because I believed I had been cheated. I won on merit. It was not a close contest; it was a landslide. Yet, what was a landslide was turned into a minority.”

He commended the judiciary for upholding the rule of law and extended an olive branch to his main challenger, Biodun Collins Ogundipe, saying he remained willing to work with all stakeholders in the interest of the party and Ogun State.

“This victory belongs to all of us in the ADC. We need a united family because we have a formidable ruling party to confront. We cannot afford to remain divided.

“I have reached out to Dr. Ogundipe before, during, and after the primary. I remain ready to work with him. I bring experience, while he brings the energy of youth. Together, we can move the ADC forward.”

Lawal added that genuine reconciliation remained the only path to presenting a formidable alternative to the ruling party in the forthcoming election.