Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu not to damage the country’s institutions after a Federal High Court nullified Atiku Abubakar’s candidacy for the 2027 election.

Reacting to the ruling, Makinde said administrations come and go but the country remains. He urged the President not to destroy the Judiciary or the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and to stop trying to shut out the opposition.

The judgment was delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja. It arose from a suit filed by the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Deputy National Chairman, Nafiu Bala Gombe, who is locked in a leadership struggle with the faction led by former Senate President David Mark.

The court held that the Mark-led caretaker leadership was unlawfully constituted and had no authority to act for the party. It therefore voided all of that leadership’s decisions, including the presidential primary that produced Atiku as the ADC candidate. The court also nullified Rauf Aregbesola’s emergence as national secretary and cancelled the party’s nominations for the 2027 general elections. The Supreme Court had earlier sent the dispute back to the Federal High Court for a ruling on the merits.

The ruling came less than 24 hours after Atiku held a campaign rally in Sokoto State, and with the presidential election scheduled for 16 January 2027, about ten weeks away. Atiku had already named former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. He described the judgment as a sign of panic on the part of Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The ADC called it another desperate attempt to cripple the opposition and deny Nigerians the right to choose their leaders. Both the party and Atiku have said they will appeal to the Court of Appeal.

The Presidency has denied any involvement. Tinubu’s spokesman, Daniel Bwala, told AFP that the APC is not involved at all in the suit over the ADC leadership. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo welcomed the judgment and said democracy is not in danger only when Atiku is contesting.

Makinde’s intervention carries added weight because he is himself a rival in the race. He emerged as the APM flagbearer after a primary in Ibadan in late May, as part of an opposition realignment away from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has been rocked by prolonged leadership crises and court battles. He was also among the G-5 governors who opposed Atiku’s candidacy in 2023.

He has repeatedly said he will not support Tinubu’s re-election, and has warned that efforts to weaken opposition parties could erode Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.

The ruling is the latest in a string of court cases over opposition party leadership. An international observation mission has already cautioned that election-related litigation, running to at least 1,200 cases, risks undermining public trust in the democratic process.