ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The African Democratic Congress has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of taking sides in its ongoing leadership crisis, alleging that the electoral body acted outside the law in handling the dispute.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the allegation on Thursday during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning Show, where he openly questioned INEC’s neutrality.
His reaction follows the commission’s decision to derecognise David Mark as national chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary of the party, citing a court order directing it to maintain the status quo pending the outcome of a suit.
The suit was filed by factional chairman Nafiu Bala, who is challenging the legality of the current leadership.
However, Abdullahi insisted that Bala no longer has any legal standing within the party, arguing that his resignation and the dissolution of the executive committee he belonged to had already nullified his claims.
“As of July 17, he was no longer an official of the party, and INEC knew this he has no locus,” Abdullahi said.
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He explained that the party’s National Executive Committee, being the highest decision-making organ after the convention, had already taken binding decisions on the leadership structure, including dissolving the affected executive.
The ADC spokesman accused INEC of ignoring these internal processes while recognising actions taken by Bala, despite being aware that he was no longer a party official.
“So, on what basis is INEC recognising Bala’s action? Because INEC knew since August 12 that they received a notice of his resignation, he is no longer an official of the party,” he said.
Abdullahi further alleged that the commission’s actions amounted to a violation of a directive by the Court of Appeal to maintain the status quo, describing the move in strong terms.
“What INEC has done effectively is to violate the directive of the appeal court, and that is criminal INEC, today, is behaving like a criminal organisation,” he said.
The controversy follows INEC’s removal of the names of Mark and Aregbesola from its official portal, as well as its decision to suspend recognition of all factions within the party pending the determination of the substantive suit before the Federal High Court.
While INEC maintained that it would not recognise any faction until the legal dispute is resolved, the ADC insists the commission’s actions suggest bias and interference in what it describes as an internal party affairs.