•Prof Joash Amupitan
Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, has warned the African Democratic Congress (ADC) against holding its planned congresses and national convention amid the ongoing crisis rocking the party.
After the electoral body removed names of ADC leaders from its portal over a court ruling, INEC also announced that it would not monitor the opposition party’s convention if the crisis persists.
INEC, which had earlier stated that it would be involved in the exercise, said it would no longer recognise factions within the ADC after reviewing a court of appeal judgment.
In his reaction, Bolaji Abdullahi, National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, said the party would not halt its activities, stressing that due process had been followed.
“So we are saying that we will go ahead with our congresses. We have given INEC 21 days’ notice. They have accepted the notice. Whether they come or not, we’ll continue with our congresses. And we will go on with our convention,” he had said.
But during an interview on Arise TV today, Amupitan said going ahead with the activities as Abdullahi stated could attract grave legal consequences.
“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 said.
“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.”
Amupitan cautioned that defying court orders could invalidate election results, with the candidate with the second-highest votes ultimately being declared winner.
“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. They are at liberty to do whatever they want to do, but INEC do not want to go into this situation again,” he said.
