ABUJA, Nigeria – The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has issued a stinging rebuttal to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, accusing the commission of misapplying constitutional principles and judicial directives to paralyze the party’s internal operations.
Okay News reports that in a two-part press statement released on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC dismissed the Chairman’s recent interview as a collection of “legal and factual misrepresentations.” The party specifically challenged INEC’s reliance on the doctrine of status quo ante bellum to justify the derecognition of its leadership, describing the commission’s interpretation as “selective and legally flawed.”
“The preservation order, by its nature, is intended to prevent actions that would irreversibly alter the subject matter of litigation, not to paralyze the internal functioning of a political party,” Abdullahi stated. He argued that INEC has no administrative power to determine what constitutes the “status quo” of a party’s internal timeline, asserting that such a determination lies strictly within the jurisdiction of the courts.
The ADC further slammed INEC’s refusal to monitor its upcoming congresses and convention, characterizing the move as an attempt by the commission to grant itself a “veto power it does not possess.” According to the party, internal democratic processes conducted under the Electoral Act do not “render proceedings nugatory,” but rather ensure the continuity of the party. The statement noted that no explicit court order exists prohibiting the ADC from holding its national convention.
Rejecting INEC’s comparison of the current crisis to the legal precedents in Zamfara State, the ADC accused the Chairman of using “speculative future outcomes” to curtail present constitutional rights. The party maintained that pre-emptively warning of judicial consequences amounts to administrative overreach.
“The interpretation advanced by the INEC Chairman stretches judicial directives beyond their meaning and risks setting a dangerous precedent where regulatory caution becomes a tool for democratic suppression,” the statement concluded. The ADC reiterated that its right to organize remains constitutionally guaranteed and has not been lawfully suspended by any court of law.
