2027: ADC ‘ll Be on Ballot, Atiku May Not — Keyamo

By Nathaniel Irobi

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has dismissed fears that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) will be excluded from the 2027 general elections, clarifying that only candidates produced by the David Mark-led faction, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, risk missing the ballot.

Keyamo, who made the clarification in a post on X on Sunday, explained that the fate of the Mark faction’s candidates, including Atiku, would ultimately depend on the Supreme Court’s final verdict.

The minister was reacting to concerns that the recent Federal High Court judgment, which nullified the Mark-led leadership of the ADC and invalidated decisions taken by the faction, including the presidential primary that produced Atiku, could shut the party out of the 2027 elections.

“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,” he wrote.

“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.”

Keyamo further questioned the outrage trailing the judgment, arguing that it should not be misconstrued as denying the ADC’s original members the opportunity to contest.

“Therefore, the question we must ask those raising hell is that, 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 ruling, delivered last Thursday, has thrown the ADC into uncertainty ahead of the 2027 polls, with the party and Atiku rejecting the judgment and vowing to challenge it at the Court of Appeal.