A Federal High Court in Abeokuta, Ogun State, has affirmed Jimi Adebisi Lawal as the legitimate governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the forthcoming Ogun State governorship election.
The ruling, delivered on Thursday by Justice Abiodun Adeyemi, settled a prolonged dispute over the party’s governorship ticket, which had split the ADC into rival factions, each claiming to have produced the valid candidate.
Lawal, an ally of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, secured the court’s backing after the judge ruled that his emergence as the party’s candidate complied with both the Electoral Act and the ADC constitution.
The suit, marked FHC/AB/CS/97/2026, challenged the legitimacy of the governorship primary that resulted in multiple factional candidates.
In his judgment, Justice Adeyemi held that the primary election which produced Lawal was lawfully conducted and properly monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The court found that the exercise met all statutory requirements, declaring it the only valid governorship primary recognised under the law.
Consequently, the court ordered INEC to recognise Lawal as the ADC’s authentic governorship candidate and include his name in its official records as the party’s flag bearer for the election.
Reacting to the judgment, the Ogun State Chairman of the ADC, Femi Soluade, described the verdict as a triumph for democracy and called for unity within the party ahead of the governorship poll.
According to Soluade, the party would not treat the outcome as a winner-takes-all victory but would instead focus on reconciliation.
“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 added that the party would immediately begin engaging aggrieved members to strengthen its internal cohesion ahead of the election.
Speaking after the judgment, Lawal described the ruling as a vindication after months of uncertainty surrounding the party’s primary election.
He maintained that he won the primary convincingly but was subjected to months of anxiety due to the leadership 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.”
Lawal also praised the judiciary for upholding the rule of law and extended an olive branch to his main rival, Biodun Collins Ogundipe, saying he remained committed to working with all stakeholders for the progress of the party.
He stressed that unity within the ADC was essential if the party hoped to mount a strong challenge against the ruling party in the forthcoming governorship election.
“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.”
Lawal added that he had reached out to Ogundipe before, during and after the primary election and remained open to reconciliation, insisting that a united ADC would be better positioned to offer a credible alternative to voters in Ogun State.
