Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has dismissed concerns over the possibility of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar being excluded from the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the country would not come to an end if he failed to make the ballot.
Mr Keyamo made the remarks in a post on X on Friday, amid growing political reactions to a Federal High Court judgment in Abuja which nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) under David Mark and Atiku’s presidential candidacy.
The ruling, delivered on Thursday, has triggered fresh debate over the party’s leadership crisis and its implications for the opposition’s preparations for the 2027 general election.
Reacting to the development, Mr Keyamo recalled a 2019 Supreme Court judgment which nullified the electoral victories of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in Zamfara State, including the governor and members of the state House of Assembly.
The Supreme Court subsequently declared their Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challengers winners after ruling that the APC had failed to conduct valid primaries ahead of the election.
Drawing a comparison with the Zamfara case, the minister appeared to suggest that Nigeria’s political system could withstand the exclusion of prominent candidates from electoral contests.
His comments come at a politically sensitive time, as opposition parties and political figures intensify efforts to position themselves ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s vice-president between 1999 and 2007, has contested the presidency several times and remains one of the country’s most prominent opposition figures.
The latest controversy surrounding the ADC could therefore have significant implications for the opposition’s political calculations as the race towards 2027 gathers momentum.
