Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said Nigeria will not suffer any catastrophe if former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar is absent from the ballot in the 2027 general elections.

Keyamo made the remarks while reacting to Thursday’s Federal High Court judgment that sacked the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and nullified the candidacies of the opposition party’s flagbearers.

He recalled Atiku’s reaction to Supreme Court judgments that overturned the electoral victories of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in Bayelsa and Zamfara states, arguing that the same standard should apply to the current political situation.

In Bayelsa, the Supreme Court nullified the election of APC governorship candidate David Lyon in February 2020, a day before his scheduled inauguration, after ruling that his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, presented forged documents to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The ruling paved the way for the inauguration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Douye Diri, as governor.

Keyamo also cited the Supreme Court’s January 2019 judgment on the Zamfara State elections, which nullified the victories of APC candidates in the governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.

The apex court ruled that the APC had failed to conduct valid primaries within the stipulated period, making its candidates ineligible to contest. Consequently, PDP candidates who came second in the elections were declared winners.

In a social media post, Keyamo said the APC accepted both judgments despite their political consequences, without attacking the judiciary.

He also recalled Atiku’s reaction to the Zamfara ruling, quoting the former vice-president as saying that political actors should accept court decisions rather than attack judges, even when the judgments go against the party in power.

The minister argued that the same principle should apply regardless of whose political interests are affected.

He cautioned against what he described as attempts to intimidate judges and blackmail the judiciary over electoral decisions that do not favour certain political interests.

“You cannot abuse judges and blackmail the judiciary when it doesn’t go your way,” he said.

Keyamo further dismissed suggestions that Atiku’s absence from the 2027 presidential ballot would pose a threat to Nigeria.

“Heavens WILL NOT FALL IF A CERTAIN ATIKU ABUBAKAR IS NOT ON THE BALLOT IN 2027,” Keyamo declared.

His comments come amid political realignments and disagreements among opposition parties over their strategies and preparations for the 2027 presidential election.