INEC keeps Atiku as candidate for Nigeria's 2027 election
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Leadership
Nigeria's electoral commission says it has not received the certified copy of the ruling invalidating the ADC leadership and nominations from that leadership. Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi therefore remain listed on its portal for the 2027 election, Mohammed Haruna said.
Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not yet received the certified true copy of the federal ruling nullifying the ADC leadership led by former Senate President David Mark and the nominations made under that leadership. Mohammed Haruna, an INEC national commissioner and chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, said in Abuja on Friday that the commission had therefore taken no decision on the affected candidacies, Leadership reports.
A check of the INEC portal on Friday still showed former vice-president Atiku Abubakar as the ADC's presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, with Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. Haruna said obtaining a certified copy of a court ruling could take about a week, particularly when it is issued by an electoral tribunal.
The ruling issued on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had nullified the ADC leadership led by David Mark and the decisions taken by it, including the process that produced the party's candidates for 2027. The ADC announced its intention to appeal and asked for enforcement of the ruling to be suspended during the proceedings.
INEC's clarification comes after the ruling invalidating Atiku's candidacy, issued on 5 November, and after Atiku could be excluded from Nigeria's 2027 presidential election was reported on 6 November.
