The 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has faulted the court judgement that sacked the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and nullified the candidacy of all its aspirants for the 2027 elections. Mr Obi also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of being responsible for the court ruling.
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PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday declared as illegal, the David Mark-led Caretaker Committee, which conducted the ADC’s presidential primary that produced ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its flag bearer.
The court also sacked the entire national officers of the party, including National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, alongside all the candidates the party presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 elections.
‘Surprising and unsettling’
Reacting in an X post on Thursday evening, Mr Obi said he received the report of the court judgement with “shock.”
“This is unsettling and surprising,” he said of the judgement.
The NDC candidate said that while he did not dispute the court’s ruling, he was concerned that the development had occurred just months before the 2027 general elections.
“The court of law is constituted to determine disputes according to the law. My concern is that three months before a general election, it is in the public interest to have certainty.
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“It is not good to have too many uncertainties about candidates and parties a few weeks before a presidential election,” he said.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for 16 January 2027, while governorship elections and state assembly polls are billed to be held on 6 February the same year.
‘APC engineered it’
Mr Obi accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of “engineering” the court ruling and leadership dispute in the ADC.
“This instability is obviously engineered by the ruling party, just as they have done against me in the Labour Party and continue to do so to close down civic space for a robust campaign.
“It is also from the same rulebook that manufactures violence against us in our campaigns,” he claimed without evidence.
Mr Obi was the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023.
PREMIUM TIMES recalls that the Labour Party had suffered an intense leadership crisis shortly after the 2023 election, which many believe resulted in Mr Obi’s defection to the ADC in December 2025.
‘Don’t undermine democracy’
In the post on X, Mr Obi suggested that the ruling party was clamping down on opposition parties and called for the protection of democratic principles, warning against any attempt to undermine voters’ freedom to freely and fairly choose their preferred candidates.
“One mark of democracy is that at all times, it is voters and not courts that choose leaders.
“The sustenance of democracy in Nigeria, in the midst of encroaching military rule in West Africa, should strengthen our resolve to protect opposition politics and not stamp out opposition parties,” he said.
The NDC candidate stressed that it was because of the importance of opposition to democracy that he promised to ensure that opposition parties and their candidates were not persecuted out of electoral contests.
“This is a time to strengthen our democracy by allowing the opposition to thrive,” he said.
READ ALSO: Atiku vows to appeal court judgement against his candidacy, seeks stay of execution
APC reacts
When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday night, the spokesperson of the APC, Felix Morka, rejected Mr Obi’s claim that the ruling party engineered the court ruling and the crisis in the ADC.
“How come every time that a court gives a decision that’s unfavourable to them, they blame APC, but when it’s in their favour they hail the rule of law and extol the judiciary,” Mr Morka said.
The APC spokesperson stressed that if the judgement was in favour of the ADC, opposition politicians would not have been blaming the ruling party for the court’s decision.
“Tomorrow, I’ll issue a statement on this (allegation),” he added.