The leadership crisis in the Ondo chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) deepened on Tuesday, as the suspended Chairman of the party, Hon. Olaide Rasheed Ibraheem, maintained he remains the authentic chairman of the party in the state.

Ibraheem who issued a 14-day ultimatum to the national leadership of the party, demanded for his immediate reinstatement, threatened to head to court to challenge the injustice on him and his executives to seek legal redress.

Addressing journalists at a press conference in Akure, the Ondo capital, Ibraheem said despite being elected as the party’s chairman in October 2020, in a rancour free exercise, he was suspended and removed by the National Chairman of the party, Raphael Nwosu, in 2024.

He maintained that since his emergence, no other state congress had been held in the state, insisting that his mandate remains valid.

According to him, throughout his tenure, he solely funded the activities of the party in the state due to the absence of political office holders or financial support, yet ensured that the party was run strictly in line with the provisions of its constitution.

Ibraheem who described his removal as unlawful, unconstitutional and embarrassing, argued that the action of the National Chairman, Nwosu, contravene the ADC constitution, saying the constitution does not vest the national chairman with the power to remove a duly elected state chairman.

Citing relevant sections of the party’s constitution, Ibraheem alleged that the national leadership acted unilaterally without convening any congress or following due process, warning that such actions could destabilise the party in the state.

Ibraheem further alleged that the former national chairman ignored Article 18 of the party’s constitution by failing to convene any congress before taking the decision, warning that such actions could plunge the Ondo State chapter of the ADC into a serious internal crisis.

He said, “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.

“The then National Chairman, Mr. Raphael Nwosu, acted ultra-vires his power. He acted for himself alone, by single handedly removing all the states and local government executives and replace us in a most dramatic way, without respect or recourse to the party’s constitution.

“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”

He therefore called for his immediate reinstatement, alongside the reinstatement of the state and local government executives of the ADC in Ondo State who were removed in November 2024.

He warned that failure to take corrective action would leave the affected members with no choice but to take further steps to defend their mandates.

He noted that despite appeals and interventions by party elders, the situation had remained unresolved, prompting him to raise alarm over the injustice in the party.

He therefore issued a 14-day ultimatum to the national leadership to reverse his removal and reinstate him, alongside the state and local government executives dissolved in November 2024.

He warned that failure to comply would leave him and other affected party officials with no option but to pursue legal action to reclaim their mandates and defend the constitution of the party.

He, however, called on stakeholders of the ADC to intervene urgently to avert further crisis, stressing that respect for internal democracy and the rule of law remains the only path to unity and stability within the party. (TRIBUNE)