Lagos 2027: Court Declines Oyefusi’s Challenge to ADC Primary

Kehinde Adeleye

The Federal High Court in Lagos has struck out a suit filed by Princess Abiodun Oyefusi challenging the outcome of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship primary in Lagos State.

The development was disclosed by the ADC governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, in a post on X on Friday night.

According to Rhodes-Vivour, the court relied on the position of the Supreme Court on disputes concerning the internal affairs of political parties and held that the issues raised by Oyefusi fell within the internal domain of the ADC.

The suit was consequently struck out.

Oyefusi had challenged the outcome of the ADC governorship primary that produced Rhodes-Vivour as the party’s candidate.

She had alleged that votes recorded in her favour were improperly transferred to Rhodes-Vivour during the collation of results. Her legal representatives subsequently approached the court seeking redress over the alleged irregularities.

Reports at the time of the dispute showed that Oyefusi had publicly challenged the conduct of the primary and maintained that she was denied victory after votes credited to her were allegedly transferred to Rhodes-Vivour.

The development comes amid the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing disputes involving the internal affairs of political parties.

Section 83(5) of the Act provides that, subject to the relevant statutory provisions, courts shall not entertain suits or matters pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party. The Act also provides financial penalties where such actions are brought in violation of the provision.

Reacting to the court’s decision, Rhodes-Vivour called for unity among ADC members and urged them to focus on the party’s political objectives.

He argued that continued litigation over the primary could distract members from their broader political activities ahead of the 2027 elections.

“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.

The court’s decision marks the latest development in the dispute that followed the ADC’s Lagos governorship primary, which ended with Rhodes-Vivour emerging as the party’s candidate.