Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has said the African Democratic Congress (ADC) will participate in the 2027 general elections, but candidates produced by the David Mark-led faction, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, may be excluded from the ballot.

Keyamo, in a post on X on Sunday, said the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the Mark-led leadership did not invalidate the ADC’s right to participate in the elections, but raised questions about the validity of candidates nominated by the faction.

“For the education of the public, those raising false alarm that the court judgment on ADC means the party will not be on the ballot are spreading misinformation,” he said.

“The ADC will be on the ballot. It is the David Mark faction of candidates, including Atiku Abubakar, that may not be on the ballot, depending on the final judgment of the Supreme Court,” he said.

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The Federal High Court in Abuja had, on Thursday, nullified the Mark-led leadership and invalidated decisions taken by the faction, including the presidential primary that produced Atiku as the ADC’s 2027 flagbearer.

Questioning protests against the judgment, Keyamo asked whether members who emerged from the party’s original leadership structure were less entitled to contest elections than Mark and Atiku.

“Are those Nigerians who successfully won their primaries under the faction of the original owners of the ADC lesser humans or lesser Nigerians than David Mark and Atiku Abubakar?” he asked.

Atiku and the ADC have rejected the judgment and appealed.