Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said the African Democratic Congress will participate in the 2027 general elections, despite the court judgment nullifying the leadership of former Senate President David Mark and the presidential nomination of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
Keyamo, however, warned that candidates produced under the Mark-led faction, including Atiku, might not appear on the ballot, depending on the final decision of the Supreme Court.
The minister stated this in a post on his X handle, @fkeyamo, on Sunday, dismissing claims that the recent Federal High Court judgment had effectively shut the ADC out of the forthcoming elections as misinformation.
“For the education of the public, those raising false alarm that the court judgment on ADC means the Party will not be on the ballot are spreading MISINFORMATION,” Keyamo wrote.
He insisted that the court ruling should not be interpreted as a decision against the existence or electoral participation of the ADC, but rather as a challenge to the legitimacy of the leadership structure under which Atiku and other candidates emerged.
Keyamo also questioned why Nigerians were expressing outrage over the judgment, arguing that members of the party’s original leadership who successfully won their primaries should not be deprived of their electoral rights because of the dispute involving Mark and Atiku.
“Therefore, the question we must ask those raising hell is that, are those Nigerians who successfully won their Primaries under the faction of the original owners of the ADC lesser humans or lesser Nigerians than David Mark and Atiku Abubakar?” he asked.
The minister’s comments followed Thursday’s judgment by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which nullified the Mark-led caretaker committee and the National Working Committee of the ADC, declaring their emergence unlawful.
The court also invalidated decisions taken under the disputed leadership, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
The ruling followed a suit filed by former ADC Deputy National Chairman (North-East), Nafiu Bala Gombe, who challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the caretaker committee assumed control of the party.
Justice Peter Lifu held that the emergence of the Mark-led leadership violated the ADC constitution, relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.
The judgment has triggered fresh political tension within the opposition party, with the status of its candidates and preparations for the 2027 general elections thrown into uncertainty.
The ADC has indicated its intention to appeal the ruling, while the dispute continues to generate reactions from political figures and supporters of the opposition coalition.
Atiku, who emerged as the ADC presidential candidate under the Mark-led leadership, is seeking to contest the 2027 presidential election after previously running for the presidency on different political platforms.
The former vice-president was the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, in which he finished second behind President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress.
