‘Tinubu Wants To Run Unopposed’  — Okonkwo Slams Court Ruling Against Atiku, Mark

Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council, has described the judgment of Justice Peter Lifu, which nullified the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the party, as “absurd but not surprising.”

Okonkwo accused the judge of showing a determination to frustrate the party and prevent it from participating in the 2027 general elections, alleging that the ruling was part of a broader plot to weaken the opposition and ensure that President Bola Tinubu faces no formidable challenger in the presidential poll.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Okonkwo alleged that Justice Lifu had consistently shown a tendency to dissolve the ADC for political reasons rather than uphold justice.

He recalled that in the case of the National Forum of Former Legislators v. INEC and five political parties, Justice Lifu had, on June 20, 2026, ordered the deregistration of the ADC and four other political parties despite an existing Court of Appeal order restraining him from taking such action.

According to him, the appellate court subsequently described the judge’s action as “judicial rascality” and “judicial impertinence,” adding that it declared him unfit to sit on the bench.

Okonkwo said the ADC had earlier raised concerns over the Nafiu Bala Gombe case against the party before Justice Lifu, arguing that the judge had already demonstrated his intention to dissolve the party.

He said the party consequently sought the transfer of all cases involving the ADC from the judge’s court.

On the leadership dispute, Okonkwo explained that the ADC unveiled the David Mark-led National Working Committee on July 2, 2025, before its National Executive Committee, in the presence and with the approval of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), dissolved the previous national executive committee and replaced it with the new leadership on July 29, 2025.

He maintained that the process followed by the party in changing its leadership was legitimate, questioning the legal standing of Bala Gombe to institute the suit against the ADC after allegedly resigning from his position as a member of the party’s National Working Committee.

According to Okonkwo, Bala had not only resigned from the party’s leadership but was also present at the unveiling of the David Mark-led executive, where he allegedly expressed support for the leadership change.

“What locus standi does Bala Gombe have to bring this suit to court after resigning from the leadership of ADC?” he queried.

The ADC spokesperson further argued that courts were barred by legislation and Supreme Court judgments from interfering in the internal affairs of political parties.

Describing the ruling as a continuation of what he termed judicial recklessness, Okonkwo alleged that it was orchestrated to pave the way for Tinubu to contest the 2027 presidential election without a formidable opposition.

He also linked the judgment to the party’s recent campaign flag-off rally in Sokoto State, claiming that its success had sent shock waves through the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The judgement, coming on the heels of the successful Sokoto flagoff rally of ADC, which sent shock waves to APC, is nothing other than APC’s determination to use the judiciary to muscle the opposition out of 2027 election,” he said.

Okonkwo called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) to immediately implement the Court of Appeal’s purported position on Justice Lifu, warning that failure to address the matter could have serious consequences for the country.

He also urged Nigerians to disregard the judgment and continue supporting the ADC and Atiku Abubakar, whom he described as the country’s alternative to the APC-led administration.

The spokesperson, however, assured that the party would pursue appropriate judicial remedies to overturn the ruling.

“We will seek appropriate judicial remedies that will bring to nought this ignoble judgement from Justice Lifu as it did when the same Judge unreasonably and illegally deregistered ADC and other four political parties,” the statement added.