Don Norman Obinna has retained his position as chairman of the African Democratic Congress in Abia State after a state congress held Friday in Umuahia. The event followed a Federal High Court judgment delivered April 29 in Abuja, which interpreted Article 17 of the ADC constitution regarding the authority to conduct party congresses. Obinna said the ruling affirmed that state chairmen, in conjunction with the National Working Committee and state executive committee, have the constitutional right to conduct congresses. He stated the party acted in compliance with the judgment, having informed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and hosted an INEC representative at the event.
The congress began Thursday with ward and local government congresses, culminating in the state-level gathering Friday. Obinna claimed the process was fully aligned with both the court order and the ADC constitution. He said consultations were held with electoral authorities ahead of the exercise, including a meeting the day before the state congress. "We wrote to INEC, Abuja, because it is a court judgment, a court order. We wrote to them and they know that we held the congresses today, and they were there," Obinna said.
Chioma Cynthia Ladeinde chaired the Abia Congress Committee, with Agodi Kanu elected as secretary. Naomi Nwogu and Gold Mbamaghionyeukwu emerged as state Woman Leader and Deputy Woman Leader respectively. Obinna described his reelection as an affirmation of confidence by party members. He declared the party united, insisting there are no factions within the ADC in Abia State. He also vowed to unseat Governor Alex Otti in the 2027 gubernatorial election.
Obinna cites a court ruling to legitimise his leadership while simultaneously declaring plans to unseat a sitting governor whose election was also court-validated. If court judgments are the benchmark for political legitimacy, then Otti's position rests on the same legal foundation Obinna now invokes. Obinna's call to unseat Otti creates a paradox where both men draw authority from judicial decisions. This positions Obinna's ambition as a challenge not just to Otti, but to the consistency of relying on court rulings as political validation.
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