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The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has said the commission will comply with any court decision regarding the eligibility of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to contest the 2027 presidential election.
Amupitan stated this on Thursday during an engagement at Chatham House in London, where he addressed questions about the political and legal developments surrounding the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
A representative of Semaphore Africa asked the INEC chairman whether Atiku would be permitted to participate in the election if he failed to overturn the recent Federal High Court judgement that affected the party’s leadership structure and his emergence as its presidential candidate.
Responding, Amupitan said the commission was legally bound to implement court decisions, particularly those delivered by the Supreme Court, irrespective of their 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.
He acknowledged that implementing politically sensitive court decisions could expose the electoral commission to criticism, but maintained that INEC had no choice but to follow the law.
“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,” he added.
The development follows a judgement delivered last Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which removed the David Mark-led ADC caretaker committee and nullified its decisions, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.
The suit was instituted by Nafiu Bala, a former ADC Deputy National Chairman (North-East), who challenged the party’s leadership arrangement.
Following the judgement, the ADC filed a notice of appeal and an application for a stay of execution. However, the application is yet to be heard or granted.
Despite the legal setback, Atiku has maintained that he remains in the race for the 2027 presidency, insisting that the court ruling would not discourage him from pursuing his ambition.
The former vice-president also argued that Nigerians should have the final say through the ballot, while accusing the ruling party of using political pressure, manufactured narratives and court processes to weaken opposition parties and promote a one-party system.
Meanwhile, Amupitan disclosed that INEC was handling more than 300 court cases, with about 66 days remaining before the 2027 general election.
He expressed concern that the volume of pre-election disputes could affect the commission’s preparations, particularly as it had commenced procurement of sensitive election materials.
The INEC chairman said he had previously advocated that pre-election matters should be resolved at least six months to one year before elections to give the commission sufficient time to concentrate on logistical arrangements.
“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.”
