2027: ‘Panic sign from Tinubu, APC’ - Atiku kicks after court nullified him as ADC candidate

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has fired back at President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, after a Federal High Court in Abuja nullified his candidacy as the ADC presidential candidate for 2027.

Atiku described the judgment as a panic sign from Tinubu and the APC. He said the ruling came because the APC is afraid of competition and afraid of losing the election.

“The panic is real,” Atiku said in a statement issued on Thursday by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu.

The court judgment was delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu. The judge sacked the leadership of the African Democratic Congress under former Senate President David Mark and voided the party’s presidential ticket held by Atiku.

Justice Lifu said the Mark-led Caretaker Committee, which conducted the party’s presidential primary that produced Atiku as its flag bearer, is illegal. The judge also sacked the entire national officers of the party, including National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, alongside all the candidates the party presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the 2027 elections.

The suit was filed by the former ADC Deputy National Chairman, North-East, Nafiu Bala Gombe. He challenged the process through which Mark and other members assumed the party’s leadership after the resignation of former chairman Ralph Nwosu. The judge upheld Gombe’s claims and granted his prayers.

Atiku had already been published by INEC as a candidate for the presidential poll. He had chosen former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate.

Atiku questioned the timing of the judgment. He said it came barely a day after a large crowd attended the ADC campaign rally in Sokoto State. He said the turnout reflected Nigerians’ desire for political change and support for the party’s promise to address the rising cost of living.

“The timing of this judgment is no coincidence. It is part of a strategy to weaken my support in the North and frustrate a campaign whose message is resonating across the country,” Atiku said.

He alleged that the judgment was intended to weaken his political support in Northern Nigeria and disrupt the momentum generated by the Sokoto rally.

Atiku also questioned why another suit was instituted against the Mark-led leadership despite an earlier judgment by the same Federal High Court, which he said had affirmed its legitimacy.

He cited an earlier judgment by Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja, delivered on July 2, 2026, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025. He said that the court had dismissed the challenge to the Mark-led leadership, upholding objections relating to jurisdiction, standing and failure to exhaust internal party remedies.

“Why, after that judgment, was another case filed to reopen the same dispute? This is a calculated attempt to circumvent a subsisting judgment. We will challenge this judicial manoeuvre at the Court of Appeal,” Atiku said.