Amupitan, INEC can no longer be trusted -David Mark

BY ORIAKU IJELE

Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Senator David Mark, has taken a swipe at the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC under Prof Joash Amupitan, accusing the electoral umpire of being on a mission to truncate Nigeria’s democracy.

David Mark, strongly communicated this sentiment during his speech at a press briefing convened by the party at the Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, in reaction to the delisting of ADC’s chairman, David Mark, secretary, Rauf Aregbesola and other members of the National Working Committee yesterday.

According to David Mark, INEC’s decision to withdraw recognition of the present leadership of the ADC is a calculated attempt to undermine the leading opposition coalition formed to end Bola Tinubu’s dictatorial tendencies as President of Nigeria.

Mark said, “What we say in essence is this: INEC cannot choose to fix the status quo from the day it took the administrative action to upload the names of the new ADC officials on its website, because INEC does not have the power to determine for any political party who its leaders should be. That decision was taken on July 29th, not on September 9th. With its press release yesterday, INEC has invented a status quo that never existed, because there was no time that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) did not have a duly constituted leadership.

“What INEC has done is to create a situation that, by its own curious logic, leaves the ADC without leadership. This certainly cannot be the status quo that the Court of Appeal directed should be preserved. It is an INEC invention that is not known to any Nigerian law.

“There is only one conclusion that Nigerians can draw from the April 1st action taken by INEC: THE ELECTORAL UMPIRE HAS TAKEN SIDES. IT CAN NO LONGER BE TRUSTED. As a matter of fact, INEC has acted in contempt of the Court of Appeal and has therefore acted unlawfully.

“My fellow democrats, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. It is not the ADC that is under attack. This is a direct assault on Nigeria’s democracy and the right of Nigerians to choose, participate, and exercise their rights as free citizens.

“We have witnessed how the APC-led Federal Government has undermined, compromised, and coerced other opposition political parties.”

Explaining how the NWC of the ADC came into being, Mark also said, “We did not come to the ADC by chance. We did our due diligence. We fulfilled all the party’s constitutional requirements, as well as all wider requirements under the laws that guide the management and operation of political parties.

“In furtherance of this process, a NEC meeting was convened on July 29th, 2025, monitored by INEC officials. One of the conclusions of that NEC meeting was the dissolution of the National Working Committee of the party, and the ratification of a caretaker committee to take over the affairs of the party, with my humble self, David Mark, as the National Chairman; Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the National Secretary; as well as others who have since been serving as officers of the party.

“In addition to witnessing this process that brought in the new leadership of the party, a formal report of these resolutions was subsequently communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). On September 9th, 2025, INEC then uploaded the names of the relevant NWC members of the party, based on the NEC resolutions.

“One of the officials in the dissolved NWC was Nafiu Bala, who was one of the Deputy National Chairmen of the party. It is on record that Gombe resigned this position on 17th May, 2025. His resignation was also duly transmitted to INEC on the 12th of August, 2025.

“Regardless of his resignation, he decided to approach the courts on September 2nd, 2025, four clear months after his resignation, seeking to be recognised as the Chairman of the ADC.

“What this means is that by the 2nd of September, when he approached the courts, INEC was already aware that Secretary Aregbesola and I had been inaugurated on the 29th of July in a process monitored by INEC.

“INEC was also aware that Gombe had resigned his position before the said inauguration on the 29th of July.”