The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has rejected Thursday’s Federal High Court judgment that removed Senator David Mark as leader of the party, calling it a calculated plan to weaken the ADC and derail his candidacy.
In a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said the timing of the ruling spoke for itself. It came barely a day after a huge crowd welcomed him in Sokoto at the launch of the ADC campaign.
“The people of Sokoto came out in their thousands because they are hungry for change and believe in our promise to make life affordable again,” he said, adding that Sokoto was only the beginning and that Kebbi and the rest of the country would have their say as the campaign moves on.
Atiku stressed that although his roots are in Northern Nigeria, his candidacy belongs to all Nigerians. He said being from the North is different from being a candidate only for the North, noting that hunger and hardship cut across regions.
He accused the ruling party of trying to shrink his support base in the North, but said it had miscalculated, describing the Sokoto turnout as evidence of a national movement.
The former vice president also questioned the legal basis of the judgment. He said Justice Musa Liman of the same court had earlier dismissed a challenge to the Mark-led leadership in Suit No.
FHC/ABJ/CS/1637/2025.
According to him, that court upheld the defendants’ objections on jurisdiction, standing and failure to exhaust internal party remedies, and resolved the substantive issues in their favour.
He asked why another case was filed to reopen the same dispute after that decision, describing the move as an attempt to get around a subsisting judgment. Atiku said the ADC would challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal.
Atiku urged ADC supporters to remain calm and law abiding and not to allow the judgment to dampen the momentum from Sokoto. He said the campaign train was already in Kebbi and would continue across the country.
He described the journey to rescue Nigeria from hardship under the APC government as a long one and said the party’s Affordable Life campaign would go on because Nigerians deserve relief from the cost-of-living crisis. He asked supporters to carry the message from house to house and door to door, and to stay peaceful and focused.
