By Fattykolly Ibn Alimi
Let us go back to memory lane, because Nigerians forget too quickly.
In 2019, the Supreme Court did to APC what the Federal High Court just did to ADC. In Rivers, APC had no candidate from governorship to House of Assembly. In Zamfara, APC won everything – governorship, 3 Senate seats, 7 House of Reps, 24 State Assembly seats – and the Supreme Court said: Sorry, you have no candidate. Your votes are wasted votes. PDP, who came second, take over.
24th May 2019. Justice Paul Galinje delivered the lead judgment. Justice Centus Nweze delivered the judgment on Rivers. Both unanimous.
It was brutal. It was painful. It was political death in broad daylight. APC Governors who were already sewing aso-ebi for inauguration were stripped naked.
But ask yourself: Did you hear APC at that time issue a WordPress statement blaming PDP? Did you hear them say “PDP wrote the judgment”? Did you hear them say “This is a reckless judicial pen”? Did you hear them threaten that “Nigeria’s stability is at risk”?
No.
APC accepted that their house was not in order. They knew Kabiru Marafa and Abdulaziz Yari fought and destroyed their own primaries. They knew Magnus Abe and Rotimi Amaechi fought and killed Rivers APC. The Electoral Act says you must conduct valid primaries. Section 87. They did not. INEC warned them. The court enforced it.
They wept in silence. They licked their wounds. They went back to the drawing board. They did not organize a World Press Conference to blackmail the judiciary.
But now look at Kachala and his Kachaladeens.
Instead of admitting that they were too lazy to form a new political party, they did smash-and-grab. Instead of going to register ADA or whatever new party they wanted, they went to hijack a poor man’s party – ADC – that Ralph Nwosu was managing since 2005.
They were warned. Three people – Adeyemi Emmanuel, Ayodeji Victor Tolu, Haruna Ismaila – filed Suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1328/2025 on July 4, 2025, telling the court: This Nwosu tenure expired, he cannot hand over party. They ignored.
Nafiu Bala Gombe said: I am the Deputy National Chairman who did not resign, by constitution I should act. They laughed. They called him a small boy from Gombe. They offered him a zonal youth leader position to keep quiet.
Today, the Federal High Court has agreed with Gombe. The hijack has failed.
And what is their response? Not superior argument. Not filing an appeal with 50 grounds. It is blame. Blame APC. Blame Tinubu. Blame the judiciary. Blame INEC. Blame everybody except their own foolishness and laziness.
Why didn’t you form a new party when INEC registration window was open? Because forming a new party needs hard work – ward congresses, local government congresses, state congresses, national convention, verification of 24 states. That is hard work.
Hijacking ADC is easy. One meeting at Yar’Adua Centre, one envelope, one press conference, you become National Chairman.
Now the law has said: No. You cannot reap where you did not sow.
APC in Rivers and Zamfara learnt the hard way that internal democracy matters. If you don’t conduct primaries, you have no candidate. If you don’t follow your constitution, you have no party.
Kachala’s ADC has not learnt.
The law is blind. It does not know whether you are APC or ADC or PDP. It only knows one thing: Did you follow due process?
You did not. So you have no candidate.
Stop crying APC. Go and file your appeal. Or better still, go and register your own party. Nigerians are tired of WordPress Congress.
The hammer that fell on APC in 2019 has fallen on you in 2026. The law does not forget.
Written By Fattykolly Ibn Alimi