The Obidient Movement is apparently considering an alternative to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), following Thursday’s Supreme Court judgment.
Thursday’s verdict ordered the leadership crisis to be addressed by the Federal High Court, and end the Status quo Ante bellum order earlier ordered by the Appeal Court.
Before the verdict, the Interim National Coordinator Obidient Movement Worldwide, Yunusa Tanko, had predicted that the Supreme Court would direct the matter back to the Federal High Court.
He said on X, “The apex court ordered the ADC leadership dispute sent back to the Federal High Court “for determination on the merits,” effectively saying the Court of Appeal’s status‑quo‑ante order was “unnecessary, improper and unwarranted.”
Through Justice Garuba, the court stressed that the substantive questions about who controls ADC must be fully tried and decided at the trial level, rather than frozen by interim orders. Why is it a “banana peel” judgment?
In earlier rulings, the Supreme Court and the Electoral Act 2026 framework had emphasised that lower courts should not decide party‑leadership disputes, treating them as internal matters of political parties.
Here, the Court still allows the Federal High Court to probe the merits of ADC leadership, which revives the very domestic‑politics litigation it had previously tried to shut out. It therefore creates a legal slippery‑slope: like a banana peel on the floor, it looks like it clears the path but may actually cause future political and judicial trips.
Recall that: The Supreme Court had previously held that courts should not routinely decide party‑leadership contests, echoing the position that such matters are *internal to the party and not subject to ordinary judicial determination.”
He described the move as an orchestration by anti-democratic and centrifugal forces against former presidential candidate Peter Obi.
Following the judgment, the leader of the Edo State Obidient Movement, Asemota Igiogbe, predicted a coming turbulence fashioned by court verdicts.
He advised that any serious presidential aspirant must attach to a newer, cleaner party to secure a clear ticket, and build momentum before the turbulence hits, not after courts have turned the party into a constitutional and succession‑battlefield.
