Breaking: Court sacks Mark-led ADC Exco, voids Atiku's candidacy
A Nigerian Federal High Court has nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by Senator David Mark. This ruling invalidates the party's primary election, effectively disqualifying Atiku Abubakar as the party's presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Why it matters
This judicial intervention significantly alters the landscape of the upcoming Nigerian presidential election by removing a major candidate and creating a leadership vacuum in the ADC.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked the Senator David Mark-led executives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and invalidated all actions they took on behalf of the party.
The actions included the nomination of a former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
Atiku, whose name was earlier published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a candidate for the presidential poll, has since chosen a former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, as his running mate.
However, in a judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu, the court declared illegal the Senator Mark-led Caretaker Committee of the ADC, which organised the primary election that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential flag bearer.
The court found merit in a suit brought before it by the aggrieved former National Deputy Chairman (North-East) of the party, Nafiu Bala Gombe.
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