The Zamfara State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has insisted that a Federal High Court judgment delivered on April 29, 2026, remains valid and must be obeyed until a higher court decides otherwise.

In a statement issued in Gusau by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Abdulkareem Umar, the ADC dismissed claims questioning the ruling and the party’s leadership in the state.

The party said Senator David Mark had appealed the judgment and also applied for a stay of execution. However, it said the application for a stay was not granted, while the Court of Appeal had already fixed a date to hear the appeal.

Quoting the statement, the party said: “The Federal High Court judgment remains valid, subsisting and binding on all parties unless and until it is set aside by a competent appellate court. No individual, group or political interest can lawfully vacate, nullify or disregard the judgment except through the legally recognised appeal process. Court orders must be obeyed while they remain in force.”

The ADC explained that, under Nigerian law, filing an appeal is different from applying for a stay of execution. It also warned that filing multiple appeals over the same judgment could amount to an abuse of court process.

On the leadership dispute, the party said a valid state congress was held in line with its constitution, leading to the election of Alhaji Kabiru Garba Gusau and other members of the State Executive Committee.

It said the current executive would serve until April 12, 2031.

The statement added that the executive’s authority came from a properly conducted congress and not from a caretaker committee.

Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress, APC, 2027 governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, has said he has never met or talked to his running mate, Damilola Sonayon-James, before the party chose her for the role.

Hamzat shared this revelation during the public showing of “Who Is She?” At the Syrian Club Event Centre in Ikoyi area of the state.

He said that the choice of his deputy governorship candidate was made after discussions within the Lagos APC, following President Bola Tinubu’s request for the state chapter to select the candidate.

Hazmat said he suggested that the running mate should be a young woman, and the President agreed with that idea.

According to Hamzat, the president called and suggested that the matter be resolved.

He said: “The president called me and said, ‘You guys go and sort it out.’ I said, ‘Sir, I think it should be a female.’ He said, ‘It’s okay.’ I said, ‘It should be young.’ He said, ‘It’s okay.”

The APC governorship candidate said the party also took into account the state’s zoning plan when making their decision.

He said since he hails from Lagos East and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is from Lagos Central, people expected the deputy governor position to go to Lagos West.

Hamzat said he didn’t have a personal connection with Sonayon-James before she became the party’s deputy governorship candidate.

“Until Damilola was chosen, I didn’t know her phone number. I got her phone number from somebody,” he said.

He said that Sonayon-James, who is the deputy woman leader of the Lagos APC and comes from Badagry, was picked based on her abilities.

The Taminu Turaki-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has hinted at the real reason behind court ruling in favour of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike’s camp.

It claimed that ‘politics of power, money and greed’ may have influenced the decision of the Federal High Court to strike out its suit seeking the recognition of its leadership.

This is contained in a statement by the faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, on Friday.

According to the spokesperson, the ruling was disappointing, stating that political interests may have influenced the the verdict of the court.

While saying they they respected the court, Ememobong said the did not agree with its ruling, stressing that the court’s decision was not in accordance with previous judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

“While we respect the judgment of the trial court, we respectfully consider that it is against the extant judgments of the Appeal and apex courts, leaving the plaintiffs with no option but to appeal the judgment and the rulings therein,” the party said.

The PDP faction further revealed that they had already instructed their lawyers to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.

It expressed the optimism that as they take the case to the Appeal Court, the survival of true opposition and multi-party democracy will be assured and they will get their victory.

According to the party, the politics of power, money and greed may last for a while, expressing the certainty of victory regardless of the judgment by the Federal High Court.