ADC Primary Crisis: Oyefusi drags party to court, alleges votes were transferred to GRV

A fresh crisis has erupted within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos after governorship aspirant, Princess Islamiyat Abiodun Oyefusi, accused the party of allegedly stripping her of victory in the governorship primary and handing her votes to fellow aspirant, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.

In a strongly worded statement issued by her legal representatives, Platinum & Taylor Hill LP, Oyefusi alleged that she won the May 22, 2026 Lagos governorship direct primary after securing the majority of valid votes cast by party members, but was later denied victory through what the firm described as a “deliberate and coordinated act of electoral fraud.”

The law firm claimed that despite Rhodes-Vivour allegedly finishing third in the contest, the ADC declared him winner after unlawfully removing all votes credited to Oyefusi and reallocating them to him.

According to the statement, “This was not a clerical mistake, computational error, or administrative oversight. It was a deliberate and coordinated act of electoral fraud.”

The lawyers further alleged that before the primaries, a petition was secretly filed against Oyefusi without her knowledge, adding that she was neither served with the petition nor given an opportunity to defend herself before a screening committee reportedly recommended her exclusion.

The statement maintained that despite the alleged irregularities, Oyefusi participated in the primary and emerged victorious.

The firm accused the ADC of ignoring repeated demands for proper collation and recognition of the authentic results, alleging that the party instead imposed Rhodes-Vivour as its governorship candidate.

Consequently, the lawyers disclosed that legal proceedings had commenced before the Federal High Court seeking declaratory and injunctive reliefs over what they described as constitutional, electoral and procedural violations.

They called on the ADC National Working Committee to immediately recognise Oyefusi as the lawful winner of the primary election.

The statement also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to reject any nomination that did not emerge from a lawful and transparent primary process.

The lawyers further challenged Rhodes-Vivour to publicly distance himself from the candidacy, insisting that evidence and records exist to prove Oyefusi won the election.