2027: ADC will be on ballot; Atiku may not — Keyamo

The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said the African Democratic Congress would participate in the 2027 general elections, but warned that candidates produced by the David Mark-led faction, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, might be excluded from the ballot.

Keyamo said the fate of the candidates would depend on the final determination of the party’s leadership dispute by the Supreme Court.

The minister made the clarification in a post on his verified X handle on Sunday, following concerns that the recent Federal High Court judgment against the Mark-led leadership could jeopardise the ADC’s participation in the elections.

The Federal High Court, Abuja, had on Thursday nullified the Mark-led leadership of the ADC and invalidated decisions taken by the faction, including the presidential primary that produced Abubakar as the party’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election.

The judgment followed a protracted leadership crisis within the opposition party, which has been marked by competing claims to its national leadership and a series of legal battles.

The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, instituted by former ADC Deputy National Chairman (North-East), Nafiu Gombe, who challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the caretaker committee assumed control of the party.

Gombe argued that following the resignation of the former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to take over the party’s leadership.

The judgment has triggered fresh political uncertainty within the ADC, particularly over the status of Abubakar’s presidential nomination and the party’s preparations for the 2027 elections.

The Mark-led faction has rejected the ruling and vowed to challenge it in court, while Abubakar and the party have also announced plans to appeal the decision.

Owing to the court’s judgment, the Independent National Electoral Commission has said it will not take a position on the leadership crisis rocking the ADC until it obtains and studies the certified true copy of the Federal High Court judgment which invalidated the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress.

Keyamo argued that the court’s decision should not be interpreted as a ban on the party, insisting that the ADC remained eligible to field candidates through its recognised leadership structure.

“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 said.

Reacting to protests and criticisms of the judgment, Keyamo questioned why the court’s decision was being portrayed as an attempt to prevent the ADC from participating in the elections.

He argued that the rights of candidates who emerged under the party’s original leadership structure should also be considered, insisting that they should not be sidelined in the dispute.

“Therefore, the question we must ask those raising hell is: 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 come as the ADC’s leadership crisis continues to cast a shadow over its preparations for the 2027 general elections, with the outcome of the pending appeals expected to determine which faction can validly nominate candidates.