The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of being behind the leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC), alleging that the party’s takeover by former Senate President David Mark was driven by Atiku’s ambition to secure its presidential ticket for the 2027 general elections.
The ruling party made the allegation while reacting to the Federal High Court judgment that nullified the Mark-led leadership and invalidated decisions taken under the disputed party structure.
In a statement released on Friday, November 6, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, accused the ADC leadership of disregarding internal democracy and the rule of law in its efforts to position Atiku for the presidency.
Morka argued that the legal battle was an internal dispute initiated by aggrieved ADC officials against the Mark-led faction, insisting that the APC had no involvement in the proceedings or the eventual judgment.
He said: “The case resulted from a legal challenge brought by ADC national officers victimized by the bare-faced heist of the party’s leadership by David Mark and his co-pirates to satisfy Atiku Abubakar’s quixotic presidential ambition.
“It didn’t matter to them that their hostile takeover of that party was in flagrant violation of the rule of law and ADC’s internal democracy, as a court of competent jurisdiction has now declared.”
The APC maintained that the judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday was a consequence of the ADC’s internal political manoeuvring rather than an attempt by the ruling party to weaken the opposition.
Morka also dismissed allegations that the APC influenced the outcome of the case, stressing that the party was neither involved in the legal dispute nor represented in the proceedings.
“The court judgment that has sent the ADC in a tailspin had to do with a notorious case initiated by leaders of ADC against pirate leaders of ADC.
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“To be clear, APC is neither a party nor an interlocutor in the matter. Nothing about the case has anything to do with the APC. And the APC has absolutely no role in the party’s judicial quagmire,” he stated.
The ruling party further accused the ADC of attacking the judiciary whenever court decisions went against its interests, while praising the same institution when judgments favoured it.
It advised the opposition party to challenge the ruling through an appeal rather than accuse the APC of orchestrating its difficulties.
“If ADC is dissatisfied with that decision, it should exercise its constitutional right of appeal rather than engage in partisan mudslinging against our great Party and issuing threats to incite anarchy against the same Nigerians they claim they desire to govern,” Morka said.
The APC also described the ADC as unfit to govern, arguing that a political party unable to resolve its internal disagreements could not effectively manage the country.
First Daily recalls that Justice Peter Lifu, on November 5, nullified the processes that produced the David Mark-led ADC leadership and invalidated decisions taken under the disputed structure, including the party’s primary election processes and outcomes.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, challenging the legitimacy of the party’s leadership.
The decision also affected Atiku’s emergence as the ADC presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
The ADC has rejected the judgment, describing it as an attempt to undermine the opposition, and vowed to challenge the decision through available legal channels.