David Mark calls for calm, heads to Appeal Court
. This is political rascality — Atiku’s aide
. Kenneth Okonkwo abandons Atiku on back of Amaechi’s emergence as running mate
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress and four other political parties for failing to meet the constitutional requirements for political parties in the country.
Justice Peter Lifu, in a judgment, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the affected parties, having failed to secure 25 per cent of the votes in the last general elections in compliance with the provisions of the law.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that the five political parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord (A), Action Alliance (AA), Action Peoples Party (APP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
Justice Lifu, who earlier dismissed all the preliminary objections filed by the defendants, ordered INEC not to allow the parties to participate in subsequent elections, including the 2027 general elections, having failed to meet the constitutional threshold.
NAN reports that a group, the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators, filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026 against the five political parties.
The plaintiff, who also joined the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) in the suit, named INEC as the 1st defendant.
The forum argued that the affected political parties failed to meet constitutional requirements relating to electoral spread and performance.
It contended that political parties are required to secure at least 25 per cent of votes in prescribed elections to remain relevant under the law.
It therefore urged the court to order the deregistration of the parties, insisting that none of the defendants had effectively countered its arguments.’
In his reaction, Paul Ibe, an aide to the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has slammed President Bola Tinubu after a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered INEC to deregister ADC and four other political parties.
Ibe said the deregistration order may yet be the biggest manifestation of Tinubu’s hell-bent bid to undermine the opposition and entrench a de facto one-party state.
In a post on X, Ibe described the judgment as the height of judicial rascality.
He recalled that the Court of Appeal presided over by Justices Mohammed A. Danjuma, Adebunkunola A. Banjoko, and Oyejoju O. Oyewumi had in Appeal CA/ABJ/CV/569/2026 and suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2025 ordered Justice Peter Lifu to stay further action on the matter until the hearing and determination of the Appeal before it. He said the hearing for the appeal was scheduled for October 27, 2026, adding that the order was dated May 22, 2026.
He urged Nigerians and the international community to see the level of desperation of the ruling party’s government to either have its way in the 2027 elections or destroy our democracy, which was purchased at a huge cost.
Also, in a statement on Monday, the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, described the ruling by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, as “an arrow fired at the heart of Nigeria’s democracy” and said it would be overturned by superior courts.
The statement was made known to journalists in a press release signed by Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the special adviser, media and publicity to the National ADC chairman.
He pointed to a subsisting order of the Court of Appeal staying proceedings in the matter and adjourning further hearing to October 27, 2027.
“How a judgment could validly be delivered while the subsisting order of the appellate court remained in force” raises serious questions, Mark said while receiving a delegation of ADC candidates in Abuja.
“The judgment cannot stand. It will be set aside because it does not pass the test of law and due process.
“Our democracy must be protected from actions that seek to undermine the constitutional rights of political parties and the choices available to Nigerians,” he stated.
Mark urged ADC candidates and supporters nationwide to remain calm and focused, saying there was “no cause for alarm.”
In the meantime, Nollywood actor and politician Kenneth Okonkwo has withdrawn his support for the presidential candidate of ADC, Atiku Abubakar, citing the continued marginalization of the South-East geopolitical zone.
Okonkwo’s decision followed the official announcement by the ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, confirming former Rivers State Governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, from the South-South, as Atiku’s vice-presidential running mate for the 2027 general election.
Reacting to the development, Okonkwo stated that any arrangement excluding the South-East from the top two executive positions in 2027 perpetuates unpardonable injustice against his people.
He emphasized that the region has not produced a President or Vice President since 1999 and noted that the ADC’s founder, Ralphs Nwosu, did not sacrifice leadership of the party in 2025 to enable the marginalisation of his own zone.
Okonkwo maintained that he would not campaign for any presidential ticket that fails to include a person of South-East origin as President or Vice President in 2027.
Okonkwo shared his decision in a statement released on his official X handle:
He weore: “I heard from social media that ADC has picked its vice presidential candidate from the South-South. If this is true, it is unfortunate, as this will continue the crude marginalisation of the South-East.
“This Geo-Political Zone has neither produced a President or Vice President since 1999. To deny the South-East the opportunity to produce the President or Vice President in ADC in 2027 will amount to perpetuating the marginalisation.
“The ADC was founded by Ralphs Nwosu from the South-East in 2005. He made the sacrifice to give up the party in 2025 for the coalition to usher in a better Nigeria. He couldn’t have made that sacrifice to marginalise his own people.
“I did not join the coalition to assist in marginalisation of my own people further. I am of the opinion that if we made a sacrifice to give up the National Chairman and the President, it will amount to unpardonable injustice to deny us the Vice President in 2027.
“I joined politics to fight for a better Nigeria where no region, Geo-Political Zone, or person will be marginalised.
“The only favour I asked Atiku Abubakar, who openly declared that he is the pathway to the presidency of the South-East, is to show it by choosing someone from the South-East to be his Vice.
“If it is confirmed that he has chosen a candidate from the South-South, I wish him well. I am not favourably disposed to campaigning for any presidential ticket that does not have a person of South-East origin as President or Vice in 2027.”
Meanwhile, ADC has selected former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as its vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 presidential election, pairing him with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on what party leaders described as a “unity and rescue ticket” aimed at offering Nigerians an alternative platform ahead of the next general election.
The party announced Amaechi’s emergence in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, following consultations with party stakeholders, coalition partners and representatives from across the country.
According to the ADC, the decision was influenced by Amaechi’s performance in the party’s presidential primary, where he emerged runner-up, as well as his extensive record in public service spanning the legislative and executive arms of government.
Abdullahi said the proposed Atiku-Amaechi partnership brings together two experienced political figures with the national reach and leadership credentials needed to tackle Nigeria’s economic and governance challenges.
“The proposed partnership between His Excellency Atiku Abubakar and Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi represents more than a political alliance; it is the coming together of two tested statesmen with the experience, national reach, and leadership capacity required to rescue Nigeria from its current challenges and reposition the country for a new era of prosperity, security, and inclusive development,” the statement read in part.
