INEC Chairman Joash Amupitan Warns African Democratic Congress Against Holding Unsupervised National Convention

INEC Chair Joash Amupitan warns the ADC that holding a convention without supervision could invalidate future wins, citing Zamfara and Plateau precedents.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 3, 2026, 7:03 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Vanguard News

Legal Directives and the Risk of Electoral Nullification

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Joash Amupitan, has issued a stern advisory to the African Democratic Congress regarding its intent to hold national congresses despite a lack of official oversight. Speaking on Arise TV, Amupitan emphasized that the commission’s refusal to supervise the event is not arbitrary but is rooted in an existing court order. He explained that the judiciary has instructed all involved parties to refrain from taking any steps that could render ongoing legal proceedings "nugatory," or effectively useless.

Lessons from Historical Precedents in Zamfara and Plateau

To underscore the severity of the situation, the INEC Chairman referenced significant past electoral crises where failure to adhere to court directives resulted in the loss of won mandates. He specifically cited the case of Zamfara State, where internal party irregularities led the court to declare an election invalid after the fact. In such instances, the legal consequence is that the individual or party with the second-highest number of votes is declared the winner. Amupitan noted that a similar failure to obey court orders affected electoral outcomes in Plateau State during the most recent election cycle.

The Status of Pending Legal Motions

According to Amupitan, the very act of conducting congresses and a national convention is currently a core subject of a pending legal process. He revealed that a motion has been filed specifically to prevent these activities until certain leadership disputes are resolved. Since this motion has not yet been determined by the court, any attempt to move forward would be in direct contravention of the judicial "status quo." The Chairman clarified that INEC derecognized the leadership faction linked to Senator David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola to maintain institutional alignment with these legal realities.