Ogun ADC rejects caretaker committee, insists Soluade remains chairman
The Ogun State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected moves to establish a caretaker committee and appoint a parallel state chairman, insisting that its executive committee led by Otunba Oluwafemi Soluade remains the legitimate leadership of the party.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the state Publicity Secretary, Adesina Olanrewaju, accused those behind the alleged arrangements of undermining internal democracy and violating the party’s constitution.
The party particularly cautioned Chief Rauf Aregbesola against imposing an alternative leadership structure, arguing that neither he nor any other individual had the authority to dissolve existing party structures without following constitutional procedures.
“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 said.
It maintained that the Soluade-led executive was duly established and that its tenure could not be terminated simply because some individuals wanted a different leadership to serve 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 added.
To strengthen its position, the Ogun chapter cited two court decisions concerning the legitimacy of elected ADC executives and caretaker arrangements.
It referred to a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja, delivered on April 29, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/581/2026, which it said affirmed the tenure of the party’s state working and executive committees and restrained INEC from recognising congresses organised by the caretaker leadership.
According to the statement, the Court of Appeal subsequently dismissed an appeal against the judgment in Appeal No. CA/ABJ/CV/608/2026.
The party also cited a November 3, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court in Ibadan, which reportedly declared an interim executive committee led by Afeez Adelowo Jimoh illegal and upheld the four-year tenure of the Yinka Olona-led Oyo State executive.
The Ogun ADC said the Ibadan judgment, delivered in Suit No. FHC/IB/CS/50/2026 by Justice U.N. Agomoh, relied on Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution and relevant provisions of the ADC constitution.
It insisted that the judicial decisions must be respected, warning against attempts to create parallel structures or disregard court orders for political convenience.