A member of the Ondo State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mr Olaide Ibraheem, has demanded his reinstatement as state chairman, warning that he will approach the courts if the party leadership fails to reverse his suspension.
Ibraheem, who was suspended by the party over allegations of misconduct, insists he remains the legitimate state chairman, claiming he emerged through a valid congress held on October 7, 2020.
The suspension reportedly occurred while the ADC was entering into coalition talks with other political parties, a period that also led to changes in the party’s leadership structure in Ondo State.
Speaking with journalists in Akure, the state capital, on Tuesday, January 20, Ibraheem argued that no fresh congress had been conducted since his suspension, insisting that his removal was unconstitutional.
He said, “I assumed office as the State Chairman of ADC via a duly conducted State Congress, the security agencies were in attendance, on the 7th day of October, year 2020, without rancour from any quarter of the party.
“It is also a fact that after I assumed office, there had never been any state Congress of the party. Since I assumed office as a diligent state chairman, I financed the party solely, as there was no political office holder or any subvention from anywhere to keep the party moving on.
“I occupied the office meritoriously and conducted the party business strictly in line with the party’s constitution.”
He further alleged that his removal by the party’s national leadership violated the ADC constitution.
“However, by the 28th of November, in 2024, I was removed from that office by Mr. Raphael Nwosu, the National Chairman of the party, in the most embarrassing and unceremonious circumstances, which is contrary to and alien to the constitution of the party.
“You will all agree with me that Article 2 of the party’s constitution clearly emphasizes the party’s supremacy over any personal power or private tenancy.
READ ALSO: APC Chieftain Warns Nigerians Against ADC Coalition
“It is also an irrefutable fact that the National Chairman of the party has no power to remove the state chairman of the party, certainly not within the National Chairman’s power under the party’s constitution.”
Explaining his delay in speaking out, Ibraheem said party elders had promised to intervene.
“I have waited this long before now, and demand to be reinstated simply because well-meaning elders of the party promised to impress on the Chairman, Mr. Raphael Nwosu, to correct himself by reversing the terrible mistake he made.
“However, it is clear that nobody has done anything. That is the reason for this peaceful address.”
He issued a 14-day ultimatum to the party leadership, threatening legal action if his demand is ignored.
“It is pertinent at this juncture, therefore, to say, if corrective action is not taken to reinstate me, my executives, and the local government executives of the African Democratic Congress, Ondo State chapter, which were wrongly removed from office in November of the year 2024, we shall take further steps. They will hear from my lawyer,” he said.
Reacting, the ADC Director of Media in Ondo State, Mr Olurotimi Eniola, dismissed Ibraheem’s claims, describing him as a former interim chairman who was expelled by the party’s national leadership.
He said, “He (Ibraheem) was truly a former interim chairman of the party but was expelled from the party for anti-party activities, after then, he left the party and had not returned to the party while two chairmen had come and gone after him.
“Up till now, he didn’t have the party membership cards, so if he wants to go to court, he is free to do so. But as far as the party is concerned, he is not yet a member,” he stated.