The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairperson Joash Amupitan of contempt of court over remarks he made during an Arise Television interview. In the interview, Amupitan warned the party against holding its planned congresses and national convention, citing a Court of Appeal order to maintain the status quo. The ADC, in a statement issued Friday by spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi, dismissed the warning as a "wilful distortion" of the court's directive, insisting its internal activities remain lawful. The party maintained that no court has explicitly barred it from conducting congresses and that its constitutional right to hold conventions remains intact.
ADC argued that the status quo order, issued on 12 March after the Court of Appeal dismissed an interlocutory appeal by David Mark's faction, was meant to preserve the subject of litigation, not halt party operations. The party said INEC's role is limited to monitoring, not determining the legality of internal processes. It added that INEC's absence at party events does not invalidate them, and that conflating monitoring with authority over validity places the commission above the law. The dispute stems from a leadership tussle between David Mark and Nafiu Bala, who challenged Mark's emergence as National President following Ralph Nwosu's resignation. INEC has since declined to engage either faction pending resolution of the Federal High Court suit.
INEC chair Joash Amupitan's public warning to ADC smacks of overreach, not oversight. The court's status quo order did not freeze internal party activities, yet Amupitan framed it as such—elevating administrative caution to judicial command. When a regulator begins interpreting court rulings for political parties, it sets a precedent that could chill democratic engagement across other parties with pending disputes. This episode does not resolve ADC's leadership crisis but risks normalising INEC as an arbiter beyond its mandate.
