The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo (SAN) has told former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) that they cannot hijack a political party and then blame the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for their own misfortune.
Keyamo’s statement on Thursday followed a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja that voided the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC and the presidential primary that produced Atiku as its 2027 candidate.
In a post on his X handle titled “Justice may be slow, but it is always SURE!”, Keyamo said the law is decided on facts and evidence, not sentiment and outrage.
“You cannot invade a political Party owned and built by Nigerians, hijack it with the connivance of a so-called National Chairman without a PRIOR meeting and approval of a mini National Convention or the National Executive Committee and hope to bluff your way out of such a brazen act by blaming and blackmailing the ruling Party for a misfortune deliberately stocked by you,” he said.
“Sorry, but the law is decided on facts and evidence, rather than sentiments and outrage by a group of people. It is not only when a certain ATIKU ABUBAKAR contest the Presidency that democracy is not in danger. The ADC as a Party is well and alive and populated by people and original leaders who are NO LESS Nigerians than a David Mark and his illegal band of marauders.”
Justice Peter Lifu, in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, upheld the claims of Nafiu Bala Gombe, former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the ADC, who argued that upon the resignation of former National Chairman Ralph Nwosu, he was entitled under the party’s constitution to assume leadership rather than have a caretaker committee imposed.
The court declared the Mark-led caretaker committee illegal and voided all decisions taken by it, including the presidential primary that produced Atiku and the nomination of other ADC candidates for the 2027 general elections.
Atiku, through Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of his campaign council, condemned the judgment as a deliberate attempt to weaken the ADC and frustrate his candidacy. He noted that the ruling came barely 24 hours after a massive campaign rally in Sokoto, describing the timing as “no coincidence.”
“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, adding that “my roots are in Northern Nigeria, but my candidacy belongs to all Nigerians. There is a difference between coming from the North and representing only the North.”
He also cited an earlier ruling by Justice Musa Liman of the same court in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025, delivered on July 2, 2026, which had affirmed the Mark-led National Working Committee and directed INEC to recognise it.
“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,” he said.
The ADC, in a statement by National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi, rejected the judgment and accused the APC of attempting to set Nigeria on fire through the courts.
“We have reasons to believe that the judgment had long been written on this case. The Sokoto rally was simply a trigger that stampeded its delivery,” the party said.
The party argued that a court of coordinate jurisdiction cannot sit on appeal over a subsisting judgment of another court of equal jurisdiction, referencing the earlier Liman ruling, and warned that the decision could affect thousands of its candidates at local, state and federal levels.
“This is not about Atiku Abubakar or David Mark. It is about the democratic rights of Nigerians to freely choose their own leaders,” the ADC said, confirming it would appeal the judgment and petition the National Judicial Council. National Welfare Secretary Nkemakolam Ukandu, who was joined in the suit as an interested party, announced the decision to appeal.
The judgment has cast fresh uncertainty over the ADC’s 2027 preparations, with Atiku having already selected former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate and INEC having published his name as the party’s candidate.
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