Worried About Likely Exclusion from 2027, ADC Requests Supreme Court to Give Timely Judgement

• Writes CJN, accuses APC of sowing seeds of instability in political parties 

•Atiku warns 2027 polls will be in jeopardy if judiciary fails the opposition

Chuks Okocha and Alex Enumah in Abuja

African Democratic Congress (ADC) has appealed to the Supreme Court to deliver its judgement in the appeal on the party’s leadership within the next three days.

ADC, in a letter to Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, stated that failure to deliver judgement within the period would jeopardise the chances of the party in the 2027 general election.

It said that would also dash the hope of millions of Nigerians intending to vote for ADC and its candidates at the general election slated for early January next year.

In the letter dated April 28, ADC’s lead counsel, Mr Shuaibu Aruwa, SAN, recalled that the apex court “graciously heard expeditiously on April 22, 2026 and judgement was thereafter reserved to a date to be communicated by the court”.

Aruwa, however, stated that they were “most respectfully constrained to request for the CJN’s kind intervention and directive in ensuring that the judgement was rendered timeously” on the grounds that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which is the fourth Respondent in the said appeal, purportedly, acting pursuant to the judgement of the lower court in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/145/2026, had removed or de-recognised the leadership of ADC.

The senior lawyer submitted that the action of INEC had left ADC without leadership at the moment even though ADC remained a recognised registered political party in Nigeria.

In addition, ADC drew the attention of the CJN to INEC’s timetable for the 2027 general election and the activities, which it said had already commenced.

The letter read, “Your Lordships would find attached copies of the INEC Press Release de-recognising the leadership of ADC and the Revised INEC Timetable for the 2027 General Elections.

“My Lord, the ADC ability to comply with these statutory requirements to participate in the 2027 General Election is wholly dependent on the timely delivery of the judgement in the instant appeal.

“Without the delivery of judgement within the next three days from the date of this letter, the ADC stands the grave and irreversible risk of being excluded from participating in the 2027 general election.

“This would disenfranchise millions of Nigerians who have subscribed to the ideals of the ADC and deny them their constitutional right to freely associate and contest elections through a political party of their choice.

“My Lord, we are mindful of the enormous responsibilities and workload of this Honourable Court. We are equally aware that justice delayed, in this peculiar circumstance, would amount to justice denied.

“The entire political future of our client and the legitimate expectations of its members nationwide now hangs in the balance.”

Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court reserved judgement in an appeal filed by Mark over the leadership tussle in ADC.

Mark, who is leading the mainstream party, is challenging the March 12 judgement of the Court of Appeal, which ordered parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum in a suit instituted by aggrieved members of the party.

In the appeal marked SC/CV/180/2026, the former senate president argued that the appellate court exceeded its jurisdiction by intervening in what he described as the internal affairs of a political party.

The appeal stemmed from a ruling delivered by the Court of Appeal on March 12, which dismissed Mark’s appeal against a September 4, 2025 ruling of the Federal High Court.

The suit at the Federal High Court was filed by Nafiu Bala, a factional national chairman, who was challenging an alleged take-over of ADC by Mark.

Meanwhile, the coalition party said the crises in the opposition political parties were not merely internal, but orchestrated by the ruling APC to shrink the democratic space.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, in a tweet, accused APC of sowing the seeds of national instability by engineering leadership crises in major opposition parties.

Abdullahi stated that the Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed-led Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) had been enjoying stable leadership until rumours began to circulate that the coalition leadership was considering PRP as an option.

“Although this is not true, it took only that single whiff of speculation for a faction to emerge almost overnight in what had been a historically tranquil political party, challenging the leadership of Baba-Ahmed,” Abdullahi stated.

He said the APC-led federal government might continue to deny any involvement in the crises within other parties, but the pattern was visible.

“The world can see what is happening. More importantly, they can see where this path leads,” he added.

The ADC spokesperson warned that a political strategy anchored in sabotaging every opposition platform was ultimately self-destructive.

“When people are left with no options, they are, in reality, left with no choice,” he warned.

Atiku Warns 2027 Elections Will Be in Jeopardy If Judiciary Fails the Opposition

 Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar raised fresh concerns over the state of Nigeria’s democracy, cautioning that the integrity of the 2027 general election may be undermined if the judiciary fails to act decisively in ongoing political parties’ disputes.

In a statement shared on his social media platforms, yesterday, Atiku reacted to a formal letter addressed to the CJN by counsel representing ADC led by Mark.

He stated, “It is increasingly evident that Nigeria’s democracy, and, indeed, the integrity of the 2027 general election is in serious jeopardy. Democracy itself is now facing an existential threat.

“However, I do not want to believe that the judiciary, long regarded as the last hope of the common man, would align with the ruling APC in any effort that could undermine or destroy our democratic foundations.”