Court nullifies Atiku’s 2027 presidential candidacy

The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by Senator David Mark, declaring its caretaker committee illegal and invalidating decisions taken under its authority, including the nomination of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.

Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment on Thursday, ruling that the process through which the Mark-led committee assumed control of the opposition party was unlawful.

The court consequently set aside actions taken by the caretaker committee, including the presidential primary election that produced Atiku as the party’s flag bearer.

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The judgment followed a suit instituted by the ADC’s former National Deputy Chairman (North-East), Nafi’u Bala Gombe, who challenged the legitimacy of the leadership arrangement that brought Mark and his associates into control of the party.

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

He subsequently approached the court, seeking an order declaring the Mark-led caretaker committee illegal and nullifying all decisions and actions undertaken on behalf of the party by the disputed leadership.

In its ruling, the court found merit in Gombe’s case and declared the caretaker committee unlawful.

The decision effectively invalidates the actions taken by the disputed leadership, including the party’s presidential primary and Atiku’s emergence as its 2027 presidential candidate.

(Arise)