By Abubakar Yunusa
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has told former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar that the law is determined by facts and evidence, not political sentiments, following a court judgment nullifying the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress.
Keyamo, who mocked Atiku over the development, said justice might be slow but would eventually prevail.
The minister made the remarks in a post on his social media handle on Thursday, hours after the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered its judgment.
Justice Peter Lifu had declared the Mark-led Caretaker Committee of the ADC illegal, nullifying its actions, including the presidential primary that produced Atiku as the party’s candidate for the 2027 general election.
The ruling also invalidated the emergence of former Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, as the party’s National Secretary, alongside the appointments of other national officers and the nomination of candidates presented by the faction for the elections.
The judgment followed a suit filed by a former ADC Deputy National Chairman (North-East), Nafiu Bala Gombe, who challenged the process through which Mark and other members of the caretaker committee assumed control of the party.
Gombe argued that following the resignation of the former National Chairman, Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to take over the party’s leadership.
He subsequently approached the court, seeking to invalidate the actions of the Mark-led faction and restrain Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary.
Upholding Gombe’s case, Justice Lifu held that the emergence of the Mark-led leadership violated the ADC constitution, relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.
Reacting to the judgment in a post titled, ‘Justice may be slow, but it is always SURE!’, Keyamo accused the faction of attempting to take over the party without following the laid-down constitutional procedures.
He wrote, “You cannot invade a political Party owned and built by Nigerians, hijack it with the connivance of a so-called National Chairman without a PRIOR meeting and approval of a mini National Convention or the National Executive Committee and hope to bluff your way out of such a brazen act by blaming and blackmailing the ruling Party for a misfortune deliberately stocked by you.”
The minister added, “Sorry, but the law is decided on facts and evidence, rather than sentiments and outrage by a group of people.”
Taking another swipe at the former Vice-President, Keyamo said democracy should not be judged solely by whether Atiku was allowed to contest the presidency.
“It is not only when a certain ATIKU ABUBAKAR contest the Presidency that democracy is not in danger,” he stated.
He maintained that the ADC remained a political party with legitimate members and original leaders, despite the court’s decision against the Mark-led faction.
“The ADC as a Party is well and alive and populated by people and original leaders who are NO LESS Nigerians than a David Mark and his illegal band of marauders,” he added.
The judgment has thrown the ADC’s preparations for the 2027 general election into uncertainty, particularly the status of Atiku’s candidacy and other political arrangements made under the nullified leadership.
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