Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has declared that “justice may be slow, but it is always sure” following a Federal High Court judgment that invalidated the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its nomination of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate.
In a ruling delivered on Thursday, Justice Peter Lifu declared the Caretaker Committee led by Senator David Mark illegal and nullified all actions taken on its behalf. This includes the specific nomination of Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 general election. The judgment was issued in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, which had been filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, the party’s former National Deputy Chairman (North-East).
Gombe argued that following the resignation of former National Chairman Chief Ralph Nwosu, he was qualified to assume leadership of the party. He sought to stop Senator Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola from presenting themselves as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, claiming their emergence violated the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act. The defendants in the case included the ADC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Senator Mark, Aregbesola, and Chief Nwosu.
Reacting to the decision, Keyamo stated that the takeover of the party could not stand legally. “You cannot invade a political party owned and built by Nigerians and hijack it with the connivance of a so-called National Chairman without a prior meeting and approval of a mini National Convention or the National Executive Committee,” he said. He further warned that those responsible for the takeover could not “bluff your way out of such a brazen act by blaming and blackmailing the ruling Party for a misfortune deliberately stocked by you.”
The ruling comes barely 24 hours after Atiku held a campaign rally in Sokoto State for the presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027. INEC had previously published Atiku’s name as a presidential candidate, and he has since selected former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. Keyamo emphasized that the court’s decision was based on facts and evidence rather than public sentiment, noting that the law is not determined by the outrage of a group of people.
The ADC has announced it will challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal. The party’s National Welfare Secretary, Nkemakolam Ukandu, who was joined in the suit as an interested party, confirmed the decision to appeal. Keyamo dismissed concerns that the ruling endangers democracy, stating that the ADC remains a functioning party populated by its original leaders, whom he described as “no less Nigerians than David Mark and his illegal band of marauders.”
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
