Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has insisted that the party will participate in the 2027 general election despite Thursday’s judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja invalidating its David Mark-led caretaker leadership.
Gatekeepers News reports that Abdullahi gave the assurance on Friday during an interview on Africa Independent Television (AIT), dismissing concerns that the ruling could prevent the opposition party from fielding candidates in the next general election.
In Thursday’s judgment, Peter Lifu, the presiding judge, declared the Mark-led caretaker committee illegal and ruled in favour of Nafiu Bala, a former national deputy chairman of the ADC from the North-East.
The judge also nullified all decisions taken by the caretaker committee, including its nomination of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
However, Abdullahi argued that the ruling was inconsistent with an earlier judgment delivered by the same court in favour of the party.
On July 2, Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a suit filed by Leke Abejide, a member of the House of Representatives, challenging the Mark-led leadership of the ADC.
Liman had ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of the party, describing the suit as non-justiciable.
According to Abdullahi, the July 2 judgment had neither been appealed nor set aside, raising questions about which of the two conflicting decisions the party was expected to obey.
“The July 2 judgement by Justice Liman had not been appealed. It has not been vacated. So, if you ask us as a party, the question we would ask ourselves is: which of the two courts should we obey?” he said.
He argued that the controversy went beyond the ADC, describing it as a threat to the country’s democratic system.
“If we proceed with our campaign, they will say a judge has ruled that the man was not duly nominated. So, the point I seek to make is that what is at stake is not just the African Democratic Congress but the very soul of democracy in this country,” he added.
Despite the legal challenges, the ADC spokesperson maintained that the party would remain active and participate in the 2027 elections.
“We will contest the 2027 election. If there will be an election in Nigeria in 2027, the ADC will contest that election. The ADC will be on the ballot,” Abdullahi said.
He added that the party would not abandon its political activities despite the setbacks.
“The thing is that we will never demobilise. We are a party, a coalition that was birthed in adversity.
“From day one, since we announced this coalition, we have spent more time in the courts than trying to build a political party and set up our structures.”
Government behind legal challenges, says Abdullahi
The ADC spokesperson also accused the Federal Government of orchestrating the legal challenges against the party, alleging that the latest court development was triggered by the support the opposition coalition received during its recent campaign in Sokoto State.
“After seeing what happened in Sokoto, they immediately brought out this case. They may say it is a conspiracy theory or a sheer coincidence, but politics is about impression and perception,” he said.
Abdullahi accused the government of pretending to have no involvement in the matter while allegedly working behind the scenes to undermine the opposition party.
“The government can continue to play Pontius Pilate and say it knows nothing about it, that it is just about the law. But they are behind it. They orchestrated it.
“They have been involved. How come government ministers are the ones celebrating yesterday’s judgement?” he asked.
He recalled that the ADC had previously faced the threat of deregistration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that the party had remained undeterred despite attempts to undermine its political relevance.
“When INEC deregistered us and removed our name from the ballot, they said the ADC was dead. I think I was here, and I told you we were not worried at all,” he added.
