The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said the African Democratic Congress will participate in the 2027 general elections, but warned that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and other candidates backed by the David Mark-led faction may be excluded from the ballot.
Keyamo said the fate of the affected candidates would depend on the Supreme Court's final decision on the lingering leadership crisis within the opposition party.
The minister stated this on Sunday in a post on his verified X handle while reacting to concerns that a recent Federal High Court judgment nullifying the Mark-led leadership could prevent the ADC from participating in the forthcoming elections.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had, on Thursday, invalidated the leadership structure headed by Mark and decisions taken by the faction, including the presidential primary that produced Atiku as the ADC's candidate for the 2027 election.
The ruling followed a suit filed by a former Deputy National Chairman of the party (North-East), Nafiu Gombe, who challenged the process through which Mark and members of his caretaker committee assumed control of the party.
Gombe argued that he was constitutionally entitled to take over following the resignation of former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu.
Reacting to the controversy, Keyamo dismissed claims that the judgment had effectively shut the ADC out of the 2027 elections, insisting that the party remained eligible to field candidates through a legally recognised leadership structure.
He said, “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.”
The minister also questioned why candidates who emerged from primaries conducted under the party's original leadership should lose their political rights because of the dispute.
Meanwhile, the Mark-led faction and Atiku have vowed to appeal the judgment, while the Independent National Electoral Commission says it will await and study the certified true copy of the ruling before taking a position on the crisis.
