African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to disqualify President Bola Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 presidential election, citing alleged inconsistencies in the NYSC discharge certificate submitted to INEC.
The Court Filing
Atiku, a former vice president, deposed to an affidavit at the Federal High Court Registry in Abuja on Friday in support of the suit filed jointly with the ADC.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether Tinubu and the APC should be barred from contesting in 2027 based on documents filed with INEC for the 2023 and 2027 elections.
Atiku’s team said it has also placed INEC on notice to produce Tinubu’s Form CF001 submitted for both election cycles. Shaibu noted that an application for certified true copies of the form was made before filing, but no response had been received at the time the processes were prepared.
Name Discrepancy at the Center
The core of the case rests on the name on the NYSC certificate. Atiku contends that the discharge certificate submitted by Tinubu bears “Tinubu Bola Adekunle,” which differs from “Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the name under which the President contests elections.
The originating summons asks the court to rule on whether that variance affects qualification under Section 137(1)(j) of the Constitution, and to grant an order disqualifying Tinubu and the APC from the 2027 race if the plaintiffs’ claims are upheld.
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Challenge to Electoral Act 2026
The suit also targets provisions of the Electoral Act, 2026. In their written address, Atiku and the ADC argue the Act restricts who can challenge a candidate’s qualification at the pre-election stage and removes qualification as a ground for questioning an election.
They say this conflicts with Section 139(a)(i) of the Constitution, which empowers the National Assembly to make laws allowing questions on presidential qualification.
“This case raises a fundamental question for our democracy. Can an Act of the National Assembly be used as a shield against an express provision of the Constitution? Our position is that the Constitution remains supreme,” Atiku said.
