The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has cautioned the African Democratic Congress (ADC) against proceeding with its scheduled congresses and national convention, warning that doing so would violate a Court of Appeal order and could trigger the same electoral crisis that afflicted parties in Zamfara and Plateau states.
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Speaking on Arise News on Friday, Prof Amupitan urged Senator David Mark and the ADC leadership to allow the law to take its course and immediately revert to the status quo ante bellum as mandated by the court.
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He stressed that INEC had no intention of being drawn into another legal quagmire where it would be restrained from performing its statutory duties.
“Failure to obey the court order has consequences,” Prof Amupitan declared. “They have the liberty to do whatever they want to do, but INEC doesn’t want to face a situation again where there is an order not to do anything or take any steps.”
He reminded the opposition party of the precedent set in Zamfara State several years ago and more recently in Plateau State.
“At the end of the day, after you have won, the court will declare the election invalid and the implication is that the person with the second-highest number of votes will be declared the winner. It’s happened in Plateau State,” he said.
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Prof Amupitan emphasised that the Court of Appeal’s directive was unambiguous.
Holding up the judgment during the broadcast, he stated: “I have the judgment here, and I can read it to you it is very definite.”
The warning comes amid the ongoing leadership crisis within the ADC, which has already led INEC to withhold recognition of either faction pending the resolution of the Federal High Court suit.
