By Jenkins Ejiro Wisike

INTRODUCTION

In light of recent political developments in Delta State, divergent views have emerged regarding whether an elected Governor—who assumed office on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC)—automatically becomes the leader of the party in the State. This opinion seeks to address the legal validity of such a position.
RELEVANT LEGAL PROVISIONS
To determine the legality of the Governor’s purported claim to the leadership of the APC in Delta State, it is pertinent to consider the following legal instruments:
Section 223(1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) (as amended)
Section 153 of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended)
Article 17(iv) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Constitution (as amended in 2022)
Section 223(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution provides:
(1) The constitution and rules of a political party shall—
(a) provide for the periodical election on a democratic basis of the principal officers and members of the executive committee or other governing body of the political party; and
(b) ensure that the members of the executive committee or other governing body of the political party reflect the federal character of Nigeria.
(2) For this section—
(a) the election of the officers or members of the executive committee of a political party shall be deemed to be periodical only if it is made at regular intervals not exceeding four years.
Section 153 of the Electoral Act, 2022 defines:
“Leader of a political party” means every person holding an executive position in that political party, including in particular, the Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer of the political party and every member of its committee of management, however described.”
Article 17(iv) of the APC Constitution (2022) states:
“Except in a caretaker capacity, no officer in any organ of the Party shall hold executive or legislative position in government concurrently.”
ISSUE FOR DETERMINATION
Whether, in light of the provisions of Section 223(1)-(2) of the 1999 Constitution, Section 153 of the Electoral Act 2022, and Article 17(iv) of the APC Constitution (2022), the Governor of Delta State—who recently defected to the APC and was not elected during the 2022 APC State Congress—can lawfully claim to be the leader of the APC in Delta State in the absence of a dissolution of the existing State Executive Committee.
ANALYSIS
The Supreme Court has consistently held that where the words of a statute are clear and unambiguous, they must be given their ordinary and natural meaning. Applying this principle, it is evident from the Electoral Act and the APC Constitution that the leadership of a political party is a matter of formal election or appointment within the structure of the party’s internal processes.
Specifically, Section 153 of the Electoral Act restricts the term “leader of a political party” to individuals occupying formal executive positions. Article 17(iv) further restricts a serving Governor from concurrently holding any executive party office, unless in a caretaker capacity, which must be constituted by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
Furthermore, the current State Executive Committee of the APC in Delta State was duly elected by the APC Constitution and the Electoral Act. Unless dissolved by the NEC and replaced with a caretaker committee—of which the Governor may be appointed a part—no legal basis exists for the Governor to assume party leadership.
To hold otherwise would be to undermine the democratic structures established by law and party rules, and would amount to a usurpation of the powers of the existing State Executive Committee.
CONCLUSION
Given the above analysis, and relying on the combined provisions of Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution, Section 153 of the Electoral Act 2022, and Article 17(iv) of the APC Constitution 2022, it is my considered opinion that:
The Governor of Delta State cannot lawfully claim to be the leader of the APC in Delta State;
He is not a member of the State Executive Committee, having neither been elected nor appointed by the NEC in a caretaker capacity;
Until the Governor contests and wins an election for an executive position within the State chapter of the APC, or is formally appointed into a caretaker role by the NEC, he cannot lawfully exercise the powers of party leadership in Delta State.