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By Sunday Ani
The New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) has described as unnecessary and unwarranted the blame on the Presidency and President Bola Tinubu over the recent court pronouncement on Atiku Abubakar, insisting that such a blame game would not change the decision of the court against the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The party also stated that the people who went to court are Nigerians, who equally have the right to participate in the 2027 general elections.
This is contained in a statement issued on Monday by Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Chairman, Board of Trustees and Founder of the NNPP.
Aniebonam stated that rather than blame the Presidency for any adverse court decisions against the ADC and Atiku, Nigerians should look at the judgment from an unbiased angle.
The Federal High Court in Abuja on 5 November nullified the leadership of the ADC led by former Senate President David Mark and invalidated all decisions taken by the party under Mark’s leadership, including the emergence of the former vice president as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
Justice Peter Lifu, in his judgment, declared the Mark-led Caretaker Committee illegal, nullifying the process through which it conducted the party’s presidential primary that produced Atiku as its flag bearer.
The court also nullified the emergence of former Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary, as well as the appointments of other national officers and the nominations of candidates presented by the party for the 2027 elections.
The judgment followed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, instituted by 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.
“I have followed with considerable interest the growing commentaries on the recent judgment of the Federal High Court. There is an unfortunate tendency in our public discourse to judge judicial decisions principally by their political consequences.
“When a judgment favours one political interest, the judge is praised for courage. When it produces an unfavourable outcome, the same judge may suddenly be portrayed as an instrument of an unseen political agenda. That is not a sound basis for evaluating the administration of justice.
“A judgment having political consequences does not establish that it was politically procured. Equally, an outcome that affects the political fortunes of a prominent aspirant does not provide any material evidence that the Presidency engineered it.
“If there is evidence of executive interference or judicial compromise, it should be presented and subjected to appropriate scrutiny. But political suspicion must not be elevated into established fact simply because respected commentators repeat it.
“There is a fundamental distinction between questioning the reasoning of a judgment and questioning the integrity of the judicial officer who delivered it. The former is legitimate legal criticism; the latter requires credible evidence,” Aniebonam stated.
He pointed out that, rather than continuing to deliberate on sentiments, the Mark-led ADC should continue with legal proceedings to the Supreme Court, or seek a stay of execution of the judgment on the matter until the elections are over, to enable it to participate.
“The NNPP had been in a long, drawn-out legal battle for years over leadership and never blamed the Presidency.
“We fought until INEC obeyed court orders and recognised our genuine leadership.
“In all political parties, some people will always feel aggrieved after internal primaries. The onus is on the leadership to find ways to resolve the internal crisis and, if possible, stop the matter from going to litigation.
“Once the matter goes to court, it can go either way. We must learn to remain broad-minded on these issues and not always look for the fall guy,” he stated.
Aniebonam cautioned the media on the use of its space by everyone to make inflammatory statements that might trigger negative reactions from Nigerians and the international community.
“We should try to limit the way we portray the nation, as it has so much affected us globally. Each judgment delivered in Nigeria has those it did not favour calling out the judiciary,” he said.
He, however, urged Nigerian elites and compatriots to continue to guard their utterances and ensure that the unity and peace of the nation are prioritised above all else in the build-up to the 2027 general elections.
“It is my hope that all concerned shall be more constructive in their utterances and discuss issues rather than individual attacks,” he added.
