By African Heritage Global Affairs Editor
Hon. Dr. Kenneth Gbandi has hailed the recent dismissal by the Federal High Court of a suit seeking to restrain the African Democratic Congress (ADC) from holding its National Convention and suspending him and other for six months, describing the ruling as another decisive victory for grassroots democracy and a clear defeat of reactionary and anti-democratic politics.
Reacting to the judgment, Hon. Gbandi, who was purportedly suspended alongside the ADC’s founding National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, and 13 other prominent party members by what he described as the phantom Nafiu Bala faction said the court’s decision has once again exposed the baselessness and illegitimacy of that faction at both state and national levels.
According to Gbandi, “The so-called Nafiu Bala faction of the African Democratic Congress exists only in the imagination of anti-democratic forces and their sponsors who are determined to undermine political pluralism and push Nigeria towards a one-party state. They manifest only as a phantom faction, with no legitimacy, no structure, and no mandate of the people.”
He stressed that the ADC remains one strong, indivisible, and united political party, operating under the able leadership of His Excellency, Senator David Mark, and guided strictly by the party’s constitution and democratic traditions. While acknowledging that attempts by the ruling party to infiltrate the ADC are not unexpected, Gbandi affirmed that such efforts would be firmly resisted at national and state levels, as well as across the Diaspora.
The Nafiu Bala faction had earlier announced the purported suspension of 15 prominent members of the party, including Chief Ralph Nwosu, Balarabe Rufai, Ibrahim Mani, Dr. Bamidele Ajadi, Dr. Chike Okogwu, Anayo Arinze, Hon. Kenneth Gbandi, Said Abdullahi, Ms. Hauwa Musa, Nkem Ukandu, Peters Oyewole, Dr. Peter Edeh, Prince Festus Igbinoba, and Razak Eyiwuawi, over alleged anti-party activities.
Hon. Gbandi who is the longest-serving European Continental Chairman of the NIDO, a former Senatorial Candidate for Delta North (2023), and a former member of the Board of Trustees of NIDOE Europe, the largest African diaspora professional network backed by an Act of the National Assembly described the suit as a gross abuse of judicial process. He reiterated his long-standing advocacy for good governance and the advancement of democracy in Nigeria and hinted that his stance is not about to change.
Welcoming the Federal High Court’s ruling, Gbandi noted that the court clearly held that the applicants failed to establish sufficient legal grounds to warrant judicial interference in the internal affairs of the party. The judgment, he added, reaffirmed the settled principle that political parties are entitled to manage their internal processes in line with their constitutions and the provisions of the law.
He urged all ADC members, both at home and in the Diaspora, to adhere strictly to due process, fairness, internal democracy, and party discipline, warning that distractions engineered by external forces must not be allowed to derail the party’s mission or advance sectional interests.
Gbandi also pointed to recent political developments in Delta State as evidence of a shifting political culture. According to him, the successful unveiling of the Delta State Coalition Committee, which he chaired, and the subsequent launch of a befitting party Secretariat by stakeholders clearly signal that the era of money-induced politics and elite-driven loyalty in Delta State is coming to an end. “The grassroots have awakened,” Gbandi declared. “The people have taken their political destiny into their own hands. This is the true spirit of democracy, and it is the future of the ADC.”
He reaffirmed his confidence that the African Democratic Congress will continue to stand as a credible and democratic alternative for Nigerians seeking transparent leadership, inclusive governance, and a decisive break from traditional politics. He also called on party leadership, both in Nigeria and across the Diaspora, to stand firm in defence of democracy, fairness, equality, and justice.
