68 Days to Poll, Atiku’s Presidential Bid Faces Legal Uncertainty

•ADC appeals judgment, seeks stay of execution

•ADC will be on ballot, Atiku may not – Keyamo

•Lagos ADC chairman insists opposition candidates will contest

With 68 days to the January 16, 2027 presidential election, the fate of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s ambition to return to Aso Rock remains uncertain as a Federal High Court judgment nullifying his emergence as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate faces a fresh legal challenge.

The development has opened another chapter in the opposition party’s leadership crisis, with conflicting positions emerging over the eligibility of its candidates and the implications of the judgment for the forthcoming general election.

The ADC has moved to overturn the November 5 judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which nullified the leadership of the National Working Committee (NWC) led by former Senate President David Mark and invalidated decisions taken under its authority, including the presidential primary that produced Atiku.

The party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, has appealed the judgment, arguing that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the dispute over the party’s leadership.

In a notice of appeal filed on Friday through his counsel, Mohammed Sheriff, Aregbesola asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the decision of Justice Peter Lifu.

He listed Nafiu Gombe, the ADC, Mark, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the party’s former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, as respondents.

Aregbesola challenged the court’s reliance on provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to invalidate the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.

His counsel argued that the trial court failed to consider the provisions of Article 23(4) of the ADC constitution, which, according to him, empowers the appropriate executive organ to appoint replacements to vacant positions pending elections at the next convention or congress.

Sheriff maintained that the appointments made by the party fell within the interim vacancy-filling provisions of its constitution rather than the procedures governing substantive elections into executive positions.

“The lower court applied the requirements governing an election to fill a vacancy without first resolving whether the appellant’s assumption of office fell within the interim appointment power asserted under Article 23(4),” he argued.

In addition to the appeal, Aregbesola filed a motion at the Federal High Court on November 7, seeking a stay of execution of the judgment pending the determination of the appeal.

The application seeks to suspend the enforcement of the affected orders and any consequential steps arising from the judgment.

The legal challenge has also triggered a sharp exchange between the ADC and Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, who maintains that the party’s participation in the election should be distinguished from the fate of candidates produced by the Mark-led faction.

Keyamo, in a post on his verified X handle on Sunday, said the ADC would participate in the 2027 elections but warned that Atiku and other candidates produced by the disputed leadership might not appear on the ballot.

“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.

“The ADC WILL BE ON THE BALLOT. It is the David Mark faction of candidates, including ATIKU ABUBAKAR that MAY NOT be on the ballot (depending on the final judgment of the Supreme Court),” he wrote.

The minister questioned why candidates who emerged through primaries conducted under what he described as the original leadership of the party should be denied the opportunity to contest.

His position followed an earlier reaction to the judgment in which he dismissed concerns over Atiku’s possible exclusion from the presidential race, declaring that “heavens will not fall” if the former Vice-President was absent from the ballot.

Keyamo also defended the judiciary, arguing that political actors should accept court decisions rather than attack judges whenever rulings go against their interests.

He cited the Supreme Court judgments that nullified the victories of APC candidates in Zamfara and Bayelsa states in 2019 and 2020 respectively, arguing that the decisions were accepted as applications of the rule of law.

The minister questioned why politicians who previously supported judicial decisions should now criticise the courts over a ruling affecting their political interests.

“You cannot abuse judges and blackmail the judiciary when it doesn’t go your way,” he said.

However, the ADC has rejected suggestions that the judgment would prevent its candidates from participating in the elections.

The party’s Lagos State Chairman, George Ashiru, yesterday insisted that Atiku and other candidates produced through its primaries would remain on the ballot, expressing confidence that the legal challenge would be resolved in its favour.

Speaking in Lagos, Ashiru described the opposition coalition as indestructible, arguing that previous attempts to undermine its political structure had failed.

He recalled earlier legal challenges involving the party, including a July judgment by Justice Musa Liman, which he said affirmed Mark’s emergence as interim national chairman.

Ashiru maintained that the party’s presidential primary and other nomination exercises complied with the Electoral Act and involved the direct participation of its members.

“We are comfortable that we’re going to be in the ballot. Our primaries were conducted in accordance with the Electoral Act.

“And because it was decided by the members of the party, directly by the members of the party, there is nobody that can then interpret the law to mean that we can’t have our candidates on the ballot,” he said.

He added that the party had appealed the judgment and applied for a stay of execution, expressing confidence that INEC would exercise caution while the legal proceedings continued.

“All our candidates will be on the ballot. Specific legal cases are different from the idea that all the candidates of a party will not be on the ballot. We will be on the ballot,” Ashiru said.

The ADC chairman also dismissed suggestions that the leadership crisis had disrupted its presidential campaign, saying consultations and grassroots mobilisation were continuing in Lagos and other states.

He expressed confidence that Atiku would receive substantial support in Lagos, arguing that the state’s voting history showed that its electorate was not permanently aligned with any particular political party or candidate.

Ashiru cited the support Lagos voters had given former Presidents Muhammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan, as well as Labour Party’s Peter Obi in previous elections, to argue that the state’s political choices were determined by candidates and their campaigns.

“In 2027, of course Lagos will vote Atiku. Nothing is different in Lagos. If you look at the history of presidential elections, Lagos voted Buhari. Buhari is not a Lagosian. Lagos voted Goodluck. Goodluck is not a Lagosian. Lagos voted Peter Obi. Lagos is a cosmopolitan city. So, it’s the work you do,” he said.

He, however, warned that prolonged legal disputes over party leadership and nominations could discourage voters and undermine confidence in the electoral process.

Ashiru said the party was also developing a people-centred manifesto that would address security, healthcare, education, unemployment, multiple taxation and government borrowing.

The ADC crisis stems from a suit instituted by Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, who claimed that he was constitutionally entitled to assume its leadership following Nwosu’s resignation.

He challenged the emergence of the Mark-led leadership, arguing that the process violated the party’s constitution and provisions of the Electoral Act.

Justice Lifu upheld his claims and nullified the actions taken by the disputed leadership, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential flag bearer.

The judgment has placed the opposition party’s leadership, nomination process and preparations for the January 16 election under fresh legal scrutiny.

Although the ADC has appealed the ruling and sought a stay of execution, the application had yet to be determined as of Sunday.

The eventual decisions of the appellate courts will therefore be crucial in determining the validity of the Mark-led leadership and the status of candidates nominated under its authority.