Obi faults court ruling sacking Atiku as ADC candidate

A file image of former Anambra Governor Peter Obi and ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the emergence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the African Democratic Congress candidate for the 2027 election.

Obi said the ruling could create uncertainty for opposition parties ahead of the general elections, warning that developments affecting candidates and party structures could undermine voters’ choices.

He stated this in a post on his verified X account on Thursday, reacting to the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The court had nullified the leadership of the ADC led by former Senate President David Mark and invalidated decisions taken under the leadership, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.

The judgment also affected the emergence of former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, as the party’s National Secretary and the nominations of other candidates presented by the ADC for the 2027 elections.

Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, said he received the news with shock, describing the development as unsettling.

“I have received with shock the news of an order by the Federal High Court in Abuja nullifying the emergence of the Chairman of the African Democratic Congress and all the actions he has taken. This is unsettling and surprising.

“I do not challenge the ruling of the court. The court of law is constituted to determine disputes according to the law.

“My concern is that three months before a general election, it is in the public interest to have certainty. It is not good to have too many uncertainties about candidates and parties a few weeks before a presidential election,” he wrote.

He said he was not challenging the court’s authority to determine disputes but argued that uncertainty surrounding opposition parties could affect the electoral process.

The former Anambra State governor alleged that the instability was being engineered by the ruling party, linking it to the crisis that affected his former party, the Labour Party.

He also accused the ruling party of using similar tactics to restrict civic space and frustrate opposition campaigns.

“One mark of democracy is that at all times, it is voters and not courts that choose leaders. I trust in the judiciary. As a public officer, I have shown deep respect for the judiciary,” Obi said.

He urged that the integrity of democracy be protected by ensuring that opposition parties and their candidates were not undermined ahead of elections.

Obi also referred to military takeovers in some West African countries, saying Nigeria should strengthen its democratic institutions by protecting opposition politics.

“The sustenance of democracy in Nigeria, in the midst of encroaching military rule in West Africa, should strengthen our resolve to protect opposition politics and not stamp out opposition parties,” he said.

He said he had promised that, if elected President, he would take a special interest in ensuring that opposition parties remained stable and that their candidates were not persecuted out of electoral contests.

Obi’s reaction comes amid a major political realignment ahead of the 2027 elections. He and Atiku were among opposition figures who joined the ADC coalition in 2025 in an effort to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

However, Obi and former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso left the ADC in May 2026 and joined the NDC, citing concerns about internal party issues. Obi subsequently emerged as the NDC’s presidential candidate, with Kwankwaso as his running mate.

Atiku, meanwhile, emerged as the ADC’s presidential candidate in May 2026. The latest court ruling has now invalidated the process that produced his candidacy.

The suit was filed by former ADC Deputy National Chairman, North-East, Nafiu Bala Gombe, who challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the caretaker committee assumed control of the party.

Gombe argued that following the resignation of the party’s former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to take over its leadership.

The court held that the emergence of the Mark-led leadership violated the ADC constitution, relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.

The ADC has said it will appeal the judgment, while Atiku has also vowed to challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.