Atiku Reacts As Court Bars INEC From Recognising ADC’s Congresses

Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has dismissed claims that the Court of Appeal judgment on the leadership crisis within the African Democratic Congress (ADC) invalidated the party’s primary elections and its candidates for the 2027 general election.

Atiku urged members of the ADC and Nigerians supporting the opposition to remain calm and focused, insisting that the court’s decision was being misrepresented by political opponents.

He stated this in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

According to the former vice president, the judgment concerned state congresses and the tenure of the party’s State Executive Committees (SEC), rather than the statutory primaries used to nominate candidates for the forthcoming elections.

Atiku accused some political actors of attempting to portray the ruling as the collapse of the ADC’s presidential ticket.

He described the interpretation as part of a campaign to discourage opposition supporters and create confusion ahead of the 2027 polls.

The statement read, “Those celebrating today should celebrate with caution. Those attempting to sell false hope to their supporters should remember that political propaganda can never substitute for judicial pronouncements.

“The judgment being celebrated relates to the conduct of state congresses and the tenure of State Executive Committees. It does not, from the facts available, amount to a judicial nullification of the ADC’s primary elections conducted under the Electoral Act.”

The former presidential candidate argued that the election of party executives through congresses and the nomination of candidates through primaries were separate legal processes.

He said the two exercises were governed by different rules and served different constitutional purposes.

Atiku said, “There is a world of legal difference between the election of party executives through internal congresses and the nomination of candidates through statutory primary elections.

“They are distinct legal exercises, governed by different legal principles and serving different constitutional purposes. One should not be confused with the other.”

He maintained that the appellate court could not have ruled on the validity of the party’s primaries if that issue was not specifically placed before it.

The statement added, “It is a settled principle of law that courts determine only the issues submitted before them.

“They neither manufacture disputes nor pronounce on matters that were never placed before them. Any attempt to stretch this judgment beyond its proper scope is an invitation to legal absurdity.”

Atiku also criticised what he described as attempts to replace the court’s actual pronouncement with politically motivated interpretations on social media.

He said, “Our opponents appear more eager to write judgments on social media than to read the one delivered by the Court of Appeal.

“Nigeria is governed by the rule of law, not by headlines, hashtags or the fantasies of political opportunists.”

Despite his position that the judgment did not affect the ADC primaries, Atiku disclosed that his legal team had been instructed to approach the Supreme Court for a final determination of the issues arising from the decision.

He said, “We remain respectful of the judiciary and have already instructed our legal team to approach the Supreme Court for a definitive determination of the issues arising from the judgment.

“That is the proper constitutional path, and we have absolute confidence in the judicial process.”

Atiku urged ADC supporters not to be discouraged by the judgment or the political narratives surrounding it.

He said the opposition movement was driven by demands for competent leadership, economic recovery, national unity and renewed hope.

The former vice president said, “Let no supporter of the ADC lose sleep. Let no Nigerian who believes in the restoration of our country be discouraged.

“The struggle to rescue Nigeria has never been about one courtroom or one judgment. It is a movement born out of the collective desire of millions of Nigerians for competent leadership, economic recovery, national unity and the restoration of hope.”