ADC accuses APC of seeking Tinubu’s unopposed re-election in 2027

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of trying to weaken opposition parties and clear the way for President Bola Tinubu to emerge as the sole major contender in the 2027 presidential election.

The ADC Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the allegation on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday while reacting to the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the leadership of the party led by Senator David Mark.

Ologbondiyan claimed the ruling was part of efforts to prevent former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the ADC presidential candidate, from appearing on the ballot.
He alleged that the APC was working towards a situation in which Tinubu would face no meaningful opposition in the next election.

“What we now want is that no candidate must stand against during the election, and that goes to nothing as far as we are concerned in the African Democratic Congress,” he said.

The ADC spokesman described the development as an attempt to undermine democratic competition, insisting that the party would pursue its legal challenge against the judgment.

“We are sure that we will go to the next level in the administration of justice; we believe that all this manipulation and attempt to suppress Nigerians, all this move to dismantle democratic structures will not work,” he said.

Ologbondiyan further alleged that the dispute was not merely about the ADC’s leadership but an attempt by an individual to consolidate political power.

“I want Nigerians to know, anyone thinking that this is about ADC is not reading the processes well. It is about one man who wants to turn himself into a life president,” he said.

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had, on November 5, nullified the emergence of Mark as ADC National Chairman and former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, as National Secretary.

The ruling followed a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, challenging the process through which the Mark-led leadership emerged after the resignation of former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, and other executives.

The court declared the actions and decisions taken by Mark, Aregbesola and other members of the party’s National Working Committee from July 29, 2025, null and void.

It also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission from recognising the affected officials as national officers of the party.

The ADC has rejected the judgment, arguing that it conflicts with an earlier decision delivered by Justice Musa Liman of the same Federal High Court, which the party said recognised the Mark-led leadership.

Ologbondiyan described the November 5 ruling as a “hired gun”, questioning how a judge of a court of coordinate jurisdiction could invalidate a leadership structure that had relied on an earlier judgment.

“The Federal High Court in Abuja here, saying, recognising the leadership of Senator David Mark as chairman of ADC. It’s upon that that the party has carried out its activities,” he said.

The party announced on November 6 that it had appealed the judgment and filed an application for a stay of execution, urging INEC not to take consequential action while the case remained before the courts.

However, another ADC lawyer, Kalu Kalu, has argued that the judgment did not expressly invalidate Atiku’s presidential nomination or those of other candidates produced under the Mark-led leadership.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Kalu urged Nigerians to read the court’s orders rather than rely on interpretations circulating publicly.
“The judgment of Honourable Justice Peter Lifu does not in any way void the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar for the presidential election coming up on the 16th day of January, 2027,” he said.

He maintained that the court nullified actions taken by the Mark-led leadership but did not specifically cancel Atiku’s nomination.

The dispute has intensified uncertainty over the ADC’s leadership and its preparations for the 2027 general election, with the party insisting that its appeal will challenge the ruling.