By Lanre Oloyede
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) will participate in the 2027 general elections, but candidates produced by the faction led by former Senate President David Mark, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, may be excluded from the ballot, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said.
Keyamo said the eligibility of candidates produced by the Mark-led faction would depend on the final determination of the party’s leadership crisis by the Supreme Court.
The minister stated this on Sunday in a post on his verified X handle, dismissing concerns that the recent Federal High Court judgment against the Mark-led leadership could prevent the ADC from participating in the 2027 elections.
The Federal High Court, Abuja, had on Thursday nullified the leadership of the Mark-led faction and invalidated decisions taken by it, including the presidential primary that produced Abubakar as the party’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
The ruling followed a suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, filed 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 assume the party’s leadership.
The judgment has intensified the leadership crisis within the opposition party, raising questions about the validity of Abubakar’s presidential nomination and the ADC’s preparations for the forthcoming elections.
However, the Mark-led faction has rejected the ruling and vowed to challenge it in court. Abubakar and the party have also indicated plans to appeal the judgment.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it would not take a position on the leadership dispute until it obtains and studies the certified true copy of the judgment that nullified the Mark-led leadership.
Reacting to the controversy, Keyamo maintained that the court ruling did not amount to a ban on the ADC or prevent it from fielding candidates in the 2027 elections.
He said the distinction should be made between the party’s participation in the elections and the eligibility of candidates produced by the faction whose leadership had been nullified.
“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.
The minister also questioned criticisms of the judgment, arguing that candidates who emerged through the party’s original leadership structure should not be denied recognition because of the ongoing leadership 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.
