2027 ELECTION: INEC Speaks On Reports Of Removing Atiku And Amaechi From Portal
The names of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi are still on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal, contrary to reports that the commission had removed them following a court judgement on the ADC leadership crisis.
INEC said it had not taken any decision on the matter because it was yet to receive an official copy of the Federal High Court judgement delivered on Thursday in Abuja.
Recall that Atiku is the ADC’s 2027 Presidential candidate, with Amaechi as his Vice.
The commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, gave the clarification in an interview with newsmen on Friday.
He was reacting to claims circulating on social media that INEC had already implemented the judgement by removing Atiku and Amaechi’s names from its portal.
Haruna questioned the source of the reports, insisting that the commission had not received the court’s decision.
“I don’t know where that statement came from. Somebody just forwarded it to me. We haven’t received the judgement yet,” he said.
He explained that obtaining a Certified True Copy (CTC) of a court judgement could take time, adding that INEC could not be expected to act on a decision it had not officially received.
“Usually, it takes about a week for you to get a CTC of the tribunal,” Haruna said.
The INEC official also said the commission had yet to meet to discuss the judgement, stressing that its position would be guided by the proper judicial process.
A check on INEC’s portal on Friday by journalists showed that the names of Atiku and Amaechi were still listed, contrary to the claims on social media.
Naijaonpoint Nigeria reports that the clarification followed Thursday’s judgement by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which removed the David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The court also nullified decisions taken by the disputed leadership, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.
The judgement followed a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman, North-East, who challenged the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.
Justice Lifu held that the process through which the leadership emerged did not meet the requirements for democratic elections under the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
The court consequently nullified actions taken by the leadership, including the nomination of candidates submitted to INEC for the 2027 elections.
The ADC has rejected the judgement, describing it as legally indefensible, and has indicated plans to challenge the decision at a higher court.