2027: INEC will obey court decision on Atiku’s eligibility – Amupitan

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, has said the commission will be bound by court’s decision on whether former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar can contest the 2027 presidential election. Amupitan stated this on Thursday while speaking at Chatham House in London, in response to a question on whether Atiku would be eligible to stand in the election if he failed to overturn the court judgment affecting the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The INEC chairman said he was constitutionally obligated to obey court orders, particularly decisions of the Supreme Court, regardless of the political implications. “If 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. Amupitan, however, expressed concern about the volume of pending litigation involving the electoral commission as preparations for the 2027 general election gather pace.

He disclosed that INEC had more than 300 cases pending against it, with the election about 66 days away at the time of the earlier dispute he referenced. “Some of those issues we have with court cases, over 300 cases hanging on the neck of INEC, and elections is just about 66 days away,” he said. He explained that the commission had earlier supported an accelerated hearing of the ADC leadership dispute, insisting that pre-election cases should be resolved early enough to allow INEC to plan its logistics.

“When it happened in April, the position of the commission was that matter should be resolved within three weeks,” he said. Amupitan added that the commission had proceeded on the basis of a court directive to suspend action and await the outcome of the legal process, but the matter eventually proceeded to appeal. He also called for reforms to prevent pre-election disputes from disrupting election preparations, proposing that such cases should abate at least six months or one year before an election.

“I had advocated in several fora that we pre-election matters should abate at least a year before the election, or let’s say six months, so that we can fix our logistics,” he said. The INEC chairman said the commission had already commenced procurement of sensitive election materials, making unresolved legal disputes a major concern. He warned that implementing court decisions could expose the commission to public criticism, even when it was merely complying with the law.

“The danger is that whenever there is such decision, and it’s you to now implement, you become the problem. The problem now is transferred unto you,” he said. The Federal High Court had nullified the leadership of the ADC faction led by former Senate President David Mark, a ruling that has raised questions about the validity of Atiku’s emergence as the party’s presidential candidate.

The ADC has said it will challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.