The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it will not take any decision on the leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress, ADC, until it receives and reviews the certified true copy of the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the party’s leadership.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Wednesday during a webinar organized by the PUNCH Media Foundation.
Haruna explained that the commission needed to study the court ruling and obtain legal advice before determining its next line of action.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, had on November 5 nullified the emergence of the Senator David Mark-led ADC leadership and invalidated decisions taken under it.
The judgment also affected the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The ruling followed a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the party, who challenged the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.
However, the ADC has rejected the judgment and appealed the decision.
The party also filed an application for a stay of execution, urging INEC not to take any action that could affect its activities while the appeal is pending.
Speaking on the commission’s position, Haruna said INEC had already initiated steps to obtain the certified copy but could not compel the court to release the document immediately.
He said,
“We can’t rush the courts, but we do our own part. We have a whole legal department. As soon as judgments like this come, what they do, of course, is to go to the courts, to go to the court registry, to see if they can obtain it. But they have their own processes.”
Haruna noted that obtaining a certified true copy of a judgment usually takes about a week. He added that once the document is received, INEC’s litigation department would examine it and advise a committee chaired by a national commissioner.
According to him, the committee would subsequently make recommendations to the commission for a final decision.
He said,
“So, as soon as we get it, we run a committee system. The department, which is in charge of litigation will look into it, then they will advise. There is a committee which is chaired by a national commissioner. They, in turn, will advise the Commission itself, and then the Commission will take a decision on exactly what to do.”
The INEC commissioner stressed that the electoral body could not take any decision on the matter without first obtaining the official court document.
He added,
“So, for now, until we receive that certified true copy, there’s really nothing that we can do about it.”