Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has stated that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has no justification for removing the name of former Senate President David Mark as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
INEC had, on April 1, announced that it would no longer recognise Mark’s leadership of the party as well as the faction led by Nafiu Bala, following a Court of Appeal directive ordering parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, with the situation before the suit was filed at the Federal High Court.
Speaking during an interview on BBC Newsday aired on Saturday, Atiku said the electoral body acted outside its legal bounds by interpreting the appellate court’s interim ruling on the party’s internal affairs.
“We are accusing them [INEC] of misinterpreting the law, even though it is not their responsibility to do that. The court has already interpreted the law. We are also accusing them of bias,” he said.
When asked if the alleged bias was aimed at keeping President Bola Tinubu in power, Atiku responded, “For sure.”
He argued that INEC’s actions contradict Supreme Court rulings which hold that internal party matters are beyond external interference.
“The commission has not acted according to law because we have a number of cases decided even by the Supreme Court that the internal affairs of political parties are not the prerogative of any agency other than the political parties themselves, but they have ignored the ruling of the highest court in the land,” he said.
Atiku maintained that INEC had no justification for removing the names of Mark-led ADC executives from its website, describing the move as a threat to Nigeria’s democratic progress and a sign of creeping authoritarianism.
“We [call it] dictatorship because we have seen evidence of government interference in the electoral process, even in the judicial process in the country,” he said.
The ADC chieftain added that he had spent four decades fighting to establish democracy in Nigeria, warning that the ruling party is attempting to “completely overthrow” those gains.
He stressed the need for free and fair elections, devoid of government interference, and an impartial electoral umpire.
Atiku expressed optimism about Nigeria’s democratic future, stating that citizens would elect the “right people” in 2027.
