Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has reacted to the Federal High Court judgment that nullified the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress and voided the nomination of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
In a post on X on Friday, Keyamo defended the ruling, stating that court decisions must be based on facts and evidence rather than public sentiments or political outrage.
He dismissed claims that the judgment threatens democracy, saying, “You cannot abuse judges and blackmail the judiciary when it doesn’t go your way. Heavens will not fall if a certain Atiku Abubakar is not on the ballot in 2027.”
Keyamo argued that the ADC remains a living political party with original leaders and members who are “no less Nigerians” than those in the now-nullified leadership.
The minister’s comments come amid ongoing debate over consistency in accepting judicial decisions, with references to past Supreme Court rulings in Bayelsa (2020) and Zamfara (2019) that went against the APC but were accepted by the party at the time.
PUNCH Online reported that the crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress leadership deepened on Thursday after the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the National Working Committee led by former Senate President David Mark, in a ruling that also invalidated the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
2027: Heavens won’t fall if Atiku isn’t on ballot — Keyamo
