By Ayo Kehinde
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued a stern warning to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) against proceeding with planned congresses and its national convention without the commission’s oversight, cautioning that defiance could have serious legal and electoral repercussions.
Speaking on Friday during an interview on Arise TV, INEC Chairman Professor Joash Amupitan emphasized that the commission’s derecognition of the ADC leadership linked to former Senate President David Mark and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola is anchored on a subsisting court order—not arbitrary discretion.
“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 make a decision. We didn’t just wake up one day and make this decision.
“There was something that led to it. There was an order of court,” Amupitan said.
The INEC chairman stressed that the court had explicitly instructed political parties to refrain from any action capable of undermining pending judicial proceedings.
“Don’t do anything. Don’t take any step that will render any proceeding before the court nugatory,” he stated.
Amupitan noted that the question of conducting congresses and conventions is currently a live issue before the courts.
“So, if they are already 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,” he added.
Citing historical precedents, the INEC chairman warned that ignoring court directives could invalidate election outcomes, potentially resulting in candidates with the second-highest votes being declared winners.
“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 votes will be declared the winner,” he said.
He further referenced Plateau State as another example where non-compliance with court directives affected electoral results.
“It happened in Plateau State during the last election… failure to obey the court order has consequences,” Amupitan noted.
While affirming the party’s right to make its own choices, he reiterated that INEC would not allow itself to be drawn into another avoidable crisis.
“They are at liberty to do whatever they want to do, but INEC does not want to go into this situation again,” he stated.
