ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has issued a stern warning to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) regarding its plans to hold congresses and a national convention without the commission’s oversight.
Speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Friday, Amupitan highlighted the legal risks the party faces by ignoring INEC’s derecognition of leadership factions linked to Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola.
Amupitan clarified that INEC’s stance is rooted in judicial mandates rather than arbitrary choice.
“So if they are going ahead with their congress, with their convention, it’s left for them to look at it, whether it is in contravention of the court. INEC didn’t 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 further noted that the court specifically cautioned against actions that might undermine legal proceedings.
“Don’t do anything. Don’t take any step that will render any proceeding before the court nugatory. So, if already they are asking that don’t do any congress, don’t do any convention, it is a relief that is being claimed. And especially they filed a motion for that purpose, that motion has not been determined”, INEC Boss said.
READ ALSO ADC Slams INEC Over Alleged Bias In Leadership Crisis
Drawing on historical examples like Zamfara and Plateau states, the Chairman warned that ignoring these protocols could lead to the total nullification of future victories.
“Let me tell you what happened in Zamfara. It happened in the past. We don’t want to conduct an election without this early warning, and at the end of the day, after you have won, the court again will come and declare the election invalid. And the implication is that the person with the second highest number of vote will be declared the winner.
“It happened in Plateau State during the last election failure to obey the court order has consequences.”, he added.
While acknowledging the party’s autonomy, Amupitan made it clear that the commission would not be a party to recurring electoral errors.
“They are at liberty to do whatever they want to do, but INEC do not want to go into this situation again”, he said.