2027: “So long INEC will not remove Atiku, other ADC candidates’ names from the ballot, there will be no problem,” Northwest Chairperson declares
By KEMI KASUMU
She said, “So long INEC will not remove the names of Atiku and other ADC candidates across Nigeria from the ballot, there will be no problem. But if it does, then, they are calling for problem and all they are doing to divert attention of our members will not work.”
The Northwest Zonal Chairperson of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Hajia Naja’atu Mohammed, has expressed confidence that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will contest and win the 2027 presidential election.
Mohammed also dismissed the notion that the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja is a threat to the ADC, insisting that it would neither intimidate the party nor disrupt its activities.
She stated this during a video interview with DCL Hausa, where she accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of being intimidated by the growing strength of the ADC and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Expressing her confidence in Atiku’s electoral chances, she said, “I am convinced that Atiku Abubakar will win the 2027 presidential election.”
Reacting to the implications of Justice Lifu’s judgment for the opposition party, Mohammed maintained that the ruling would not prevent the ADC from pursuing its political activities or participating in the 2027 general elections.
Reaffirming her position on Atiku’s candidacy, she declared, “Nothing will stop Atiku Abubakar from participating in the 2027 election, and he will win.”
Explaining the reasons for her confidence despite the Lifu judgment, she said an earlier judgment by a Federal High Court had not only recognised and affirmed the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC but had also ruled that “any intra-party matter should not get to the court.”
By implication, she argued that a Federal High Court could not set aside its own judgment except through an appeal to a higher court. She also accused Justice Peter Lifu of working for President Bola Tinubu’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, insisting that his judgment could not lawfully overturn the earlier ruling.
She further cited a Supreme Court judgment which, according to her, had already recognised the David Mark ADC leadership and established that courts should not assume jurisdiction over internal party affairs.
Mohammed, however, warned that the ruling party was inviting chaos by attempting to remove Atiku’s name from the ballot, dismissing the possibility of such an outcome.
She said, “So long INEC will not remove the names of Atiku and other ADC candidates across Nigeria from the ballot, there will be no problem. But if it does, then, they are calling for problem and all they are doing to divert attention of our members will not work.”
