A lawyer for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kalu Kalu, has maintained that a Federal High Court ruling that nullified the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the party did not cancel former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s nomination as the party’s presidential candidate for the January 16, 2027 election.
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, Kalu argued that the judgment by Justice Peter Lifu contained no explicit order voiding Atiku’s candidacy or those of other candidates selected under the Mark-led executive. He said some people were reading into the ruling conclusions that were not stated in the court’s orders.
“There is no portion of that judgment that voids the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar and the other candidates of the party,” Kalu said. He added that the ruling “does not in any way void the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar for the presidential election coming up on the 16th day of January 2027.”
Kalu blamed the confusion on social media interpretations, saying members of the public had attributed to the court decisions that were not expressly contained in the judgment.The controversy stems from the November 5 judgment in a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC.
Gombe challenged the process by which Mark and other officials assumed leadership after the resignation of the party’s former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, and other executives in July 2025. He contended that the vacancies should have been filled through a democratic process in line with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.
Justice Lifu nullified the emergence of Mark as National Chairman and former Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary. The judge declared all actions, decisions and steps taken by Mark, Aregbesola and other members of the National Working Committee from July 29, 2025, null and void.
He also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or dealing with them as national officers of the party and directed the commission not to act on decisions from the ADC’s 99th National Executive Committee meeting of July 27, 2025, at which the Mark-led leadership emerged.
The court held that the process failed to meet the requirement for democratic elections under Section 82(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 and breached provisions of the party’s constitution and the 1999 Constitution. It rejected a resignation letter purportedly written by Gombe that the Mark faction had relied on, finding material differences in signatures that rendered the document unreliable.
While recognising Gombe as the only elected National Working Committee member whose four-year tenure remained valid, the judge declined to automatically make him substantive National Chairman.The ruling has created uncertainty over the ADC’s leadership and its candidates for the 2027 elections, particularly Atiku, who emerged as the party’s presidential candidate and later selected former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate.
It came despite an earlier July 2, 2026 judgment by Justice Musa Liman of the same court that the Mark-led faction had relied on.Atiku rejected the November 5 decision, describing it as an attempt to weaken the opposition and frustrate his presidential bid. He vowed to challenge it at the Court of Appeal and insisted it would not halt his campaign.
The ADC, through National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, also dismissed the judgment as politically motivated and warned that its implications could extend beyond Atiku and the national leadership to thousands of candidates. The party has filed an appeal and an application for a stay of execution, urging INEC not to take any prejudicial steps.INEC has said it will study the certified true copy of the judgment and seek legal advice before deciding its next action, maintaining it will not take a position without examining the court’s orders.
The dispute continues to deepen the ADC’s internal crisis as the party prepares for the 2027 general elections, with competing factions holding opposing views on the validity of the Mark-led leadership and the candidates produced under it.
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