A Federal High Court in Lagos has struck out a suit filed by Princess Abiodun Oyefusi against Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over the party’s Lagos governorship primary.
This was disclosed by Rhodes-Vivour in a post on X Friday night.
The court, relying on the recent position of the Supreme Court on disputes concerning the internal affairs of political parties, held that the issues raised in the suit fell within the internal domain of the ADC.
The court consequently struck out the case.
The development followed a dispute that arose after the ADC’s Lagos governorship primary, which produced Rhodes-Vivour as the party’s candidate. Oyefusi had challenged the outcome, alleging that votes credited to her were improperly transferred during the collation of the results. Her legal representatives subsequently approached the court seeking redress.
The ruling is consistent with the Supreme Court’s established position that, as a general principle, disputes relating to the internal affairs of political parties fall within the parties’ domain and are generally not matters for judicial determination. The Electoral Act 2026 has also addressed the jurisdiction of courts over internal party affairs.
Reacting to the ruling, Rhodes-Vivour called for unity within the party, describing continued litigation over the matter as unnecessary and distracting.
He said the ADC’s focus should be on delivering a Lagos that works for all and defeating the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 election.
Rhodes-Vivour urged party members to work together, saying there was a need to salvage Lagos from “corruption and ineptitude.”
He reiterated his call for party unity, stressing that members should focus on the task ahead rather than continue with court cases.
“Our focus is on delivering a Lagos that works for all and to salvage our Lagos from cronyism corruption and ineptitude. Hence I reiterate my call for party unity so we can all work together to defeat the APC. Dragging cases in court, quite frankly, is unnecessary and distracting,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
