2027 Election: Atiku Urges Ballot Victory, Hails Appeal Court Ruling On ADC Leadership

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has declared that Nigeria’s 2027 general election must be decided by the electorate at the ballot box rather than through judicial intervention.

Atiku made the remark on Tuesday while reacting to the Court of Appeal’s decision overturning a Federal High Court judgment that sought to remove the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other political parties from Nigeria’s democratic space.

The appellate court’s ruling effectively clears the legal hurdles surrounding the ADC’s leadership, allowing the party to focus on preparations for the 2027 general election.

In a statement issued by his media office in Abuja, Atiku congratulated the Justices of the Court of Appeal, describing the judgment as a demonstration of courage, fidelity to the Constitution and commitment to justice.

According to him, the decision has strengthened public confidence in the judiciary and reinforced Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.

“As the nation advances towards the 2027 general elections, political contests must be decided by the votes of Nigerians—not by contrived lawsuits seeking to achieve in the courtroom what cannot be won at the ballot box,” Atiku said.

The former vice president stated that the Court of Appeal’s judgment, alongside an earlier ruling by Justice Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, affirming the Senator David Mark-led National Executive Committee of the ADC, has effectively resolved all legal disputes challenging the party’s leadership ahead of the 2027 polls.

He noted that the development firmly establishes the ADC’s legal standing to participate in the forthcoming general election.

According to the statement, the Court of Appeal held that the judgment delivered on June 15 by Justice Lifu was a nullity because it was issued in defiance of a subsisting order of the appellate court.

The court also ruled that the respondents lacked the legal standing (locus standi) to institute the suit, describing their claims as speculative and legally unsustainable.

The statement further explained that the appellate court interpreted Section 225A of the Constitution disjunctively rather than conjunctively, holding that the suit was premature since the Osun and Ekiti election cycles were still ongoing when the action was filed.

Atiku also said the appellate court faulted the trial court for disregarding unchallenged affidavit evidence presented by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which confirmed that the ADC and the other affected political parties had complied with all constitutional and statutory requirements.

“Having accepted INEC’s evidence, the lower court had no legal basis to manufacture additional conditions in order to arrive at what the Court of Appeal rightly described as a perverse decision,” he said.

The former vice president described the judgment as a victory not only for the ADC but also for constitutional democracy, the rule of law and Nigerians who believe in free and fair political competition.

“The strength of a democracy lies not in the exclusion of political opponents but in allowing the people to freely determine their leaders through the ballot,” he stated.

Atiku also warned against using the judiciary and other state institutions as instruments of political contest, saying such actions could undermine public confidence in democratic institutions and weaken Nigeria’s constitutional order.

“The judiciary must never be transformed into a battlefield for eliminating political competitors or shrinking the democratic space,” he warned.

He commended the Court of Appeal Justices for what he described as a courageous, impartial and constitutionally grounded judgment, adding that the ruling reaffirmed the supremacy of the rule of law over political expediency and further strengthened confidence in the administration of justice.