The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the court’s voidance of its principal presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, alleging that the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), was working to silence opposition parties and to present its candidate, Bola Tinubu, as the sole candidate in the coming 2027 general elections.
Justice Lifu, on November 5, nullified the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC and declared invalid the actions taken by the caretaker committee. The ruling followed a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former National Deputy Chairman of the party, who challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the committee assumed leadership after the resignation of former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
The court’s decision was reported to have affected the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate, as the Mark-led committee organised the primary election.
The ADC, however, rejected the judgment, describing it as legally indefensible and accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of seeking to weaken the opposition. The party also said it would challenge the decision, citing an earlier judgment by Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court, which it said had affirmed the legitimacy of the Mark-led leadership.
Speaking further on ADC’s standpoint on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, Kola Ologbondiyan, Spokesperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential campaign council, has accused the APC of working toward coronating Tinubu in 2027 instead of competing in the election.
Ologbondiyan said the party has given no ground for opposition politics. “So it now goes into what we have been saying because what we now want is that no candidate must stand against during the election, and that goes to nothing as far as we are concerned in the African Democratic Congress.”
The NDC’s Spokesperson said that his party has taken the necessary steps to appeal the judgement.
“We are sure that we will go to the next level in the administration of justice; we believe that all this manipulation and attempt to suppress Nigerians, all this move to dismantle democratic structures will not work. We have seen it over and over again; it will not stand.”
He alleged that the APC is working to ensure that the ADC candidate, Abubakar, is not on the ballot for the 2027 election, and to enthrone President Tinubu as a life president.
“I want Nigerians to know, anyone thinking that this is about ADC is not reading the processes well. It is about one man who wants to turn himself into a life president”
Ologbondiyan argued that the ADC has a subsisting decision from the Federal High Court in Abuja, a court with the same jurisdiction, earlier recognising the leadership of Senator David Mark as chairman of ADC.
“The Federal High Court in Abuja here, saying, recognising the leadership of Senator David Mark as chairman of ADC. It’s upon that that the party has carried out its activities.”
He described the recent judgment invalidating David Mark as chairman of ADC as a “hired gun.”
“Now you have a hired gun coming from nowhere, sitting in appeal on the same court of the same jurisdiction, and saying that, oh, what his own fellow brother on the bench ruled is no longer valid, when it was the same court that the party obeyed in carrying out its activities. ”
Ologbondiyan, however, noted that the party believes in the decision taken by the Court of Appeal.
On November 6, the party announced that it had filed an appeal and an application for a stay of execution, and cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against taking consequential action while the legal challenge was pending.
A lawyer to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kalu Kalu, argued that the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja does not invalidate Atiku Abubakar’s candidacy for the 2027 presidential election.
Kalu made the position known on Wednesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, after the certified true copy (CTC) of the controversial judgment was released earlier in the day.
He accused some people of reading into the judgment orders that were not made by the court, insisting that no part of the decision expressly nullified Atiku’s candidacy.
“The judgement of Honourable Justice Peter Lifu does not in any way void the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar for the presidential election coming up on the 16th day of January, 2027. There is no portion of that judgement that voids the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar and other candidates of the party, there is none,” Kalu said.
He urged Nigerians to read the judgment, arguing that its operative orders were being misrepresented.
“And we are placing it on record, let the whole world go and read the judgement of Honourable Justice Peter Lifu. The best you could get from that judgement is a declarative order made by Honourable Justice Peter Lifu that all actions, steps, activities taken by David Mark and Aregbesola from the 29th day of July 2025 till date are null and void and of no effect whatsoever. And people are now importing what is not stated or what is not declared on that judgment,” he added.
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