INEC awaits certified copy of court judgment before taking action on ADC leadership

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has stated that it will withhold any decision on the leadership crisis affecting the African Democratic Congress (ADC) until it receives and reviews the certified true copy of a Federal High Court judgment invalidating the party's leadership. Mohammed Haruna, INEC's National Commissioner and head of the Information and Voter Education Committee, made this announcement during a webinar organized by the PUNCH Media Foundation.

Haruna emphasized that the commission requires time to study the court ruling and seek legal advice before deciding its next course of action. The Federal High Court in Abuja, under Justice Peter Lifu, had ruled on November 5 that the ADC leadership, led by Senator David Mark, was nullified, invalidating decisions made under his leadership, including the selection of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party's presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, challenging the leadership emergence. Despite the judgment, the ADC has opted to appeal the decision and has also lodged a request for a stay of execution, urging INEC not to proceed with any actions that might impact its operations while the appeal is ongoing.

Haruna noted that while INEC has already begun the process to obtain the certified copy, they cannot force the court to expedite the release of the document. He explained that the commission's legal department would assess the judgment once it is received and advise a committee headed by a national commissioner. The committee would then recommend a course of action to the commission, which would ultimately decide the appropriate steps to take.

Haruna stressed that INEC cannot make any decision on the matter until the official court document is in their possession, stressing that the electoral body must wait for the certified true copy before taking any further action.