 |
| INEC chairman Amupitan |
INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan has assured Nigerians that the commission will strictly adhere to court orders and avoid repeating past errors like those in Zamfara and Plateau during the ongoing African Democratic Congress (ADC) leadership crisis.
Speaking in an Arise TV interview on Thursday, April 2, 2026, Amupitan addressed the bitter rift between factions led by former Senate President David Mark and Nafiu Bala. He emphasized INEC’s commitment to legal compliance amid the turmoil.
This follows INEC’s Wednesday announcement derecognizing both Mark and Bala’s factions after scrutinizing a Court of Appeal ruling.
Undeterred, ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi had however declared Thursday that the party will push forward with its congresses and national convention, defying INEC’s stance.
“As far as we are concerned, INEC is a party in the case. And INEC was sued as a defendant by a member of ADC,” he said.
The INEC chairman said the Court of Appeal gave a “clear directive” that all parties involved must avoid actions that could pre-empt the decision of the trial court.
“The court is very clear that parties, including David Mark himself, should refrain from doing anything that would foist a situation of fait accompli on the court,” he said.
Amupitan added that the electoral body acted based on the court’s order.
“INEC did not just take a decision; we didn’t just wake up one day and took this decision. There was something that led to it. There was an order of court,” he said.
“Don’t do anything. Don’t take any step that will render any proceeding before the court nugatory.”
Amupitan said parties involved in the dispute must determine whether their actions comply with the court’s directive.
“So if they are going ahead with their congress, with their convention, it is left for them to look at it, whether it is in contravention of the court,” he said.
He warned that ignoring court orders could have serious legal consequences.
“And especially they filed motion for that purpose, that motion has not been determined,” he said.
The INEC chairman said the commission is trying to avoid a repeat of the electoral crisis previously experienced in Zamfara state.
“It happened in the past. We don’t want to conduct an election without this early warning,” he said.
“And at the end of the day, after you have won, the court again will come and declare the election invalid.”
He also cited a similar situation that occurred in Plateau State during the last election cycle.
“It happened in Plateau State during the last election, where, after the question of primaries was even an issue,” he said.
“So the court said, go and do those primaries. But unfortunately, they did not obey the court order. Failure to obey the court order has consequences.”
He noted that INEC will not take any step that could interfere with a matter pending before the court.
“So if I proceed, for instance, to monitor their convention, it means that I’m taking steps that is going to affect the subject matter that is pending before the court,” Amupitan added.
Amupitan said such situations could result in candidates with fewer votes being declared winners.
“And the implication is that the person with the second-highest number of votes will be declared the winner,” he said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment