I’m Still On Ballot – Atiku

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has charged his supporters to remain steadfast, saying he remains in the 2027 presidential race despite Thursday’s Federal High Court judgment nullifying the party’s leadership.

On Thursday, a Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the leadership of the ADC led by Senator David Mark and invalidated all decisions taken by the party under its leadership, including his emergence as presidential candidate.

In a statement he personally signed on Friday, Atiku, who has continued his campaign despite the judgment, said: “I am in this race. I am not going anywhere. We will be on the ballot. No threat, blackmail or court manoeuvre will make me abandon you or the cause we share.”

While alleging that the latest court ruling does not reflect the will of the Nigerian people, the ADC presidential candidate added: “No manipulation, conjecture or concoction can erase our place in this contest, silence our campaign or deny Nigerians the right to choose their future. We are on the ballot, and the people must be allowed to decide.”

In a veiled attack on the ruling party, Atiku said those who boast of having thirty-two governors and claim to have bought, pressured or coerced leaders from other parties into their fold should have no reason to fear a free and fair contest.

“Yet, instead of presenting their record to Nigerians, they continue to deploy every tactic available to weaken the opposition: political pressure, manufactured narratives, courtroom manoeuvres and attempts to compromise the voters’ register with AI-generated photographs, false names and fictitious identities,” he said.

“These are not the actions of people confident in their record. They are calculated attempts to make genuine competition impossible and push Nigeria towards a one-party state.”

He alleged that the present administration had no record to defend before Nigerians, saying: “This government removed the fuel subsidy overnight without a plan to protect Nigerians. It presided over the steep decline of the naira and allowed food prices to rise beyond the reach of ordinary families. Factories and small businesses have shut their doors. Our young people are leaving in search of hope, while bandits and kidnappers continue to hold communities hostage.”

“Look around you. Market stalls stand empty. Feeding your family has become a daily struggle. Fuel prices keep rising, and silent pain fills homes across the country. Those in power may want you to believe that your suffering does not matter. They may want you to surrender your future before you even reach the ballot box. Do not lose heart. Do not retreat. Your vote is your power, and together, we will take our country back.”

“We will resist with all our strength every attempt to turn Nigeria into a one-party state. Nigeria belongs to all its people. Our democracy must remain open to more than one party and more than one voice. If those in power believe in their numbers and their record, let us meet at the polls in a free, fair and credible contest.”

“Let me say this plainly: Bola cannot use the courts to escape the judgment of Nigerians at the ballot box,” he said.

Coalition For Democracy Warns Of Escalation

The Coalition for Democracy has also raised concerns over Thursday’s judgment, describing the development as a dangerous escalation in what it alleges is a systematic attempt to weaken opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued on Friday, November 6, 2026, and signed by Salihu Moh. Lukman on behalf of the coalition parties, the group warned that the judgment, which it said purportedly dissolved the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the ADC and invalidated its presidential candidacy, could have far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s democratic system.

The coalition cautioned that the development affecting the ADC today could become the fate of other opposition parties tomorrow, amid what it described as a rapidly shrinking democratic space in the country.

According to the group, it had previously raised concerns over alleged attacks on opposition supporters, obstruction of political activities and the increasing use of state institutions against political competitors.

It maintained that Thursday’s court decision had given its earlier concerns renewed urgency, questioning whether opposition parties would be allowed to participate meaningfully in the political process ahead of the 2027 elections.

While reaffirming its respect for the independence of the judiciary and the constitutional right of aggrieved parties to seek legal redress, the coalition stressed that judicial institutions must not become instruments for extinguishing political competition.

“Those who seek to destroy the opposition in order to guarantee their own victory must understand that they are not merely threatening political parties; they are threatening the very foundations of the Republic,” the statement said.

The coalition further argued that no democracy could thrive where opposition parties were denied the opportunity to compete freely and offer Nigerians alternative political choices.

It warned that the continued restriction of democratic space could have serious implications for national stability, insisting that peaceful political competition remained essential to sustaining Nigeria’s democracy.

“The ballot must remain the battlefield of democracy. No political party should be allowed to achieve through institutional manipulation what it fears it cannot achieve through the votes of Nigerians,” the group declared.

The coalition also expressed solidarity with the ADC over its decision to challenge the judgment through the appropriate judicial processes.

It called on opposition political parties, civil society organisations, the Nigerian Bar Association, organised labour, the media and Nigerians to unite in what it described as peaceful and lawful resistance against actions capable of undermining political pluralism.

“Let it be known: the Coalition for Democracy will not stand by while Nigeria is reduced to a democracy without opposition, elections without alternatives, and ballots without genuine choices,” the statement added.

“An attack on one is an attack on all. We will resist it together.”

The Coalition for Democracy emerged from the G100 Opposition Summit held in Abuja on August 31, 2026. It comprises nine political parties: the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Youth Progressives Party (YPP).

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has reacted, expressing shock over the judgment and warning that it could create uncertainty for opposition parties ahead of the elections.

“I have received with shock the news of an order by the Federal High Court in Abuja nullifying the emergence of the Chairman of the African Democratic Congress and all the actions he has taken. This is unsettling and surprising,” Obi said.

“I do not challenge the ruling of the court. The court of law is constituted to determine disputes according to the law. My concern is that three months before a general election, it is in the public interest to have certainty. It is not good to have too many uncertainties about candidates and parties a few weeks before a presidential election,” he added.

Similarly, the Kwankwasiyya Movement, aligned to former Kano State Governor and NDC vice-presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, also expressed concern over the judgment.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Dr Habibu Mohammed, the movement acknowledged the constitutional powers of the judiciary but said the uncertainty created by persistent litigation could affect the ability of opposition parties to organise and prepare for the elections.

“Nigeria’s democracy must be built on political pluralism, institutional independence, equal treatment before the law and the protection of citizens’ rights to associate and participate in the electoral process,” the statement read.

The presidential candidate of the Action Alliance (AA), Faduri Oluwadare Joseph, popularly known as Fadojoe, warned that Nigeria’s democracy is under threat if opposition parties are weakened through prolonged legal battles and political interference.

He described the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the leadership of the ADC under former Senate President David Mark and invalidating the presidential nomination of Atiku Abubakar as troubling, noting that its timing, barely two and a half months before the 2027 general elections, had raised serious questions about judicial independence, political competition and the future of Nigeria’s democracy.

Fadojoe stressed that his reaction was not based on party affiliation, noting that he was not a member of the ADC but believed that an injustice against democratic participation in one party could threaten the rights of other opposition candidates.

“Let me state unequivocally that I am not speaking today because I belong to the ADC. I do not. I am the Presidential Candidate of Action Alliance (AA). I am speaking because an injustice against democratic participation anywhere is a threat to democratic participation everywhere,” he said.