Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, says the election umpire will abide with any court ruling on whether Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), can contest the 2027 election.
He disclosed this on Thursday while addressing an audience at Chatham House in London.
Last Thursday, Peter Lifu, a judge of the federal high court in Abuja, dismissed the David Mark-led ADC caretaker committee and nullified its decisions, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.
During the Chatham House session, a representative of Semafor Africa asked Amupitan whether Atiku would be allowed to contest the election if he failed to overturn the judgement.
Amupitan stated that INEC would comply with any court order, particularly a supreme court decision, regardless of its political implications.
“If it travels through the courts and, as you said, he eventually fails, well, I’m obligated under section 285 of the Constitution of Nigeria to obey every court order, especially if it is from the supreme court,” he said.
“But the danger is that whenever there’s such a decision, and it’s you who now has to implement it, you become the problem.
“The problem now is transferred to you. But that is the position of the law.”
Amupitan stated that INEC had over 300 court cases, with about 66 days left before the 2027 election.
The INEC chairman said he had previously advocated that pre-election disputes be resolved at least six months to one year before an election to allow the commission to concentrate on preparations.
“I had advocated in several forums that election matters, pre-election matters rather, should be at least a year before the election. Or let’s say six months,” he said.
“So that we can face our logistics. Now we have gone into serious procurement of the most sensitive materials. So that’s a very big issue for us.”
