A ruling against the leadership of Nigeria’s African Democratic Congress (ADC) has put former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s 2027 presidential nomination in dispute as parties prepare for an election filing deadline.
The ADC said the Nov. 5 Federal High Court ruling set aside the leadership of former Senate President David Mark and decisions made under it, including the primary that selected Atiku as the ADC nominee. Channels Television reported that the case arose from a challenge by former ADC Deputy National Chairman Nafiu Bala Gombe to Mark’s rise to party leadership.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) published an updated presidential candidate list Oct. 31 naming Atiku as the ADC nominee. That list predates the ruling. INEC National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna told Punch the commission would obtain a certified copy of the judgment and study it before deciding how to respond.
Rauf Aregbesola, national secretary under Mark’s leadership, appealed on Nov. 6, contesting the court’s jurisdiction and its findings about his appointment, Legal Nigeria and the Independent reported. They said he requested a stay of execution in a separate Nov. 7 application.
The leadership dispute also bears on election administration: INEC says it sends each party’s national chairman the code used to file polling-agent details online. Its portal says the electronic system replaces manual submissions.
In a separate election-related incident, the Delta State Police Command said one person died and five were injured during a Nov. 7 procession in Asaba. Police said they were investigating responsibility. The Delta State government called for an impartial investigation.
The PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, which supports President Bola Tinubu, said Nov. 8 that it had distributed more than 500 vehicles and that its outreach had reached about 20 states.
INEC has scheduled the presidential election for Jan. 16, 2027. Parties must submit polling-agent details by 5:59 p.m. ET (22:59 UTC; 11:59 p.m. West Africa Time) on Dec. 10.
