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| Peter Obi during a 2022 interview. File image. | Voice of America / Wikimedia Commons, public domain. |
Peter Obi has called for greater certainty over candidates and political parties ahead of the 2027 elections following a Federal High Court judgment invalidating former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential nomination.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate said the development raised concerns about electoral participation and the stability of opposition parties as campaigning continued.
In a statement posted on X on Thursday, 5 November, Obi expressed shock at the decision. He acknowledged the courts’ responsibility to resolve disputes but questioned the consequences of uncertainty over nominations close to an election.
"My concern is that three months before a general election, it is in the public interest to have certainty," Obi said.
"It is not good to have too many uncertainties about candidates and parties a few weeks before a presidential election."
Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment in Abuja, setting aside the emergence of the African Democratic Congress leadership headed by former Senate President David Mark.
The court also invalidated decisions taken under that leadership, including the primary election that produced Atiku as the ADC presidential candidate.
Obi alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had encouraged instability within opposition parties. He linked the ADC dispute to the leadership crisis that affected the Labour Party, whose presidential ticket he contested in 2023.
He further accused the ruling party of restricting opposition campaign activities and alleged that violence against his campaign followed the same pattern.
The APC rejected the accusation. Speaking to Premium Times on Thursday night, its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, disputed Obi’s claim of interference. Morka questioned why opposition politicians blamed the APC for unfavourable judgments while praising judicial independence when decisions favoured them.
Obi urged the judiciary to safeguard citizens’ ability to choose their representatives freely.
"One mark of democracy is that at all times, it is voters and not courts that choose leaders," he said.
He also cited military takeovers elsewhere in West Africa as a reason for Nigeria to protect democratic institutions and maintain space for competing political parties.
Obi said he would make the protection of opposition parties a priority if elected president.
"It is because of the importance of opposition to the sustenance of democracy that I have always promised that, as President, I will take a special interest in ensuring opposition parties are stable and thriving, and that opposition candidates are not persecuted out of electoral contests," Obi said.
"This is a time to strengthen our democracy by allowing the opposition to thrive."
The judgment arose from a suit brought by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman for the North-East. He challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the caretaker leadership assumed office following the departure of former chairman Ralph Nwosu.
Gombe argued that the party’s constitution entitled him to take over the leadership. Justice Lifu upheld his challenge and granted the reliefs sought against the disputed leadership.
The ADC has announced plans to appeal. Its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, cited an earlier Federal High Court judgment which, the party said, recognised the Mark-led leadership.
The party also said it was awaiting a certified true copy of Lifu’s judgment to establish its precise terms and operative orders.
Atiku’s presidential campaign council separately said its lawyers were preparing to seek a stay of execution, while the former vice-president pledged to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.