Friday, April 3, 2026 - The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called for the immediate sack of Joash Amupitan, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), after the de-recognition of the party's leadership.
Speaking during a press briefing on Thursday, April 2, the
National chairman of the party, David Mark, said the electoral body can no
longer be trusted, describing its actions as unlawful. He accused the
ruling All Progressives Congress of using the Independent National Electoral
Commission to weaken opposition parties.
INEC had on Wednesday announced its decision to delist key
ADC figures, including National Chairman David Mark, National Secretary Rauf
Aregbesola, and others.In a statement released by its National Commissioner and
Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna,INEC
stated that the decision was in compliance with a court order directing the
commission to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the case by
the trial court.
Reacting, Mark said that over the past three years, there
has been a sustained attack on the freedom of association, a core principle
guaranteed in any democracy.
The embattled ADC chairman further alleged that the aim is
to engineer a situation where, by 2027, President Bola Tinubu becomes the sole
viable choice for Nigerians, despite the prevailing hardship and escalating
insecurity across the country.
“The agenda
is very clear: to create a situation where, in 2027, President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu emerges as the only option left for the people, despite the widespread
suffering and wanton killings going on across the country. The twin challenge
of deepening poverty and a worsening security situation in the country did not
just happen. They are direct consequences of the failure of this government.
They know that Nigerians will not want this to continue. They know Nigerians
will vote them out. This is why they would do anything to hang on to power by
hook or crook.”
Mark stated that their decision to join the ADC was
deliberate, noting that they carried out thorough due diligence
“In
furtherance of this process, a NEC meeting was convened on July 29th, 2025,
monitored by INEC officials. One of the conclusions of that NEC meeting was the
dissolution of the National Working Committee of the party and the ratification
of a caretaker committee to take over the affairs of the party, with my humble
self, David Mark, as the National Chairman; Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the
National Secretary; as well as others who have since been serving as officers
of the party.
In addition
to witnessing this process that brought in the new leadership of the party, a
formal report of these resolutions was subsequently communicated to the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). On September 9th, 2025, INEC
then uploaded the names of the relevant NWC members of the party, based on the
NEC resolutions.
One of the
officials in the dissolved NWC was Nafiu Bala, who was one of the Deputy
National Chairmen of the party. It is on record that Gombe resigned from this
position on 17th May, 2025. His resignation was also duly transmitted to INEC
on the 12th of August, 2025. Regardless of his resignation, he decided to
approach the courts on September 2nd, 2025, four clear months after his
resignation, seeking to be recognised as the Chairman of the ADC.''
Mark said that by September 2, when Bala went to court, INEC
was already aware of the July 29 inauguration of the party’s leadership and
Gombe’s prior resignation. He added that while the case was ongoing, their
lawyers challenged the Federal High Court’s jurisdiction, but the Court of
Appeal dismissed the appeal and directed all parties, including INEC, to
maintain the status quo ante bellum.
“The crux of
the matter is the interpretation of what constitutes status quo ante bellum,
which the Court of Appeal directed should be maintained. From all authoritative
counsel at our disposal, there is no legal interpretation or precedent that
could possibly lead to the outcome that INEC seeks to foist on our party.
Based on its
press statement of yesterday, INEC is pretending to be confused as to what
constitutes the status quo ante bellum. If this were so, under the
circumstances, what one would have expected was for INEC to approach the Court
of Appeal to request a judicial interpretation of what truly represents the
status quo under the circumstances. But it did not do this. While posturing to
be neutral, its actions confirm that it has become irredeemably partisan,
working, as it were, towards a preconceived agenda.
With its
action, INEC has left no one in doubt that it has chosen the path of dishonour
and has become complicit in undermining Nigeria’s democracy. It can therefore
no longer be trusted. What we say, in essence, is this: INEC cannot choose to
fix the status quo from the day it took the administrative action to upload the
names of the new ADC officials on its website, because INEC does not have the
power to determine for any political party who its leaders should be.
That
decision was taken on July 29th, not on September 9th. With its press release
yesterday, INEC has invented a status quo that never existed, because there was
no time that the African Democratic Congress did not have a duly constituted
leadership. What INEC has done is to create a situation that, by its own
curious logic, leaves the ADC without leadership. This certainly cannot be the
status quo that the Court of Appeal directed should be preserved. It is an INEC
invention that is not known to any Nigerian law.”
Mark accused INEC of acting in contempt of the Court of
Appeal, describing its move as a direct attack on Nigeria’s democracy and on
citizens’ rights to choose, participate, and freely exercise their civic
freedoms.
‘’Right now,
I speak to Nigerians at home and in the diaspora. I also speak directly to
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: with 90% of the National Assembly and over 30 of
Nigeria’s 36 governors in the APC, President Tinubu, what are you afraid of? If
you are convinced that you have done well for the people who voted for you, why
are you afraid of a free, fair, and transparent electoral contest? If you are
indeed the democrat that you claim to be, why are you bent on destroying all
opposition political parties?
It is
important to state the net implications of this decision taken by INEC, in case
they had not thought of it, or they just do not care: First, by attempting to
subvert the leadership of the ADC, INEC has already undermined our
participation in the Osun and Ekiti elections taking place later this year.
Secondly, we
have our congresses starting on the 9th of April, 2026, ending with our
convention on the 14th of April, 2026. We have given due notice to INEC, and
they have acknowledged receipt of that notice. This is what the law requires of
us. Let us sound a note of warning. This INEC under Professor Joash Amupitan
will be held directly responsible for whatever actions or reactions follow this
criminal path that it has chosen to take.
We demand
the immediate resignation or sack of the INEC Chairman, Professor Amupitan, and
all the National Commissioners. We no longer have confidence in them. We are
convinced that they are incapable of conducting any credible election.''
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