The chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has defended the retention of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s name on the commission’s website as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) despite a Federal High Court judgment disqualifying him from the 2027 election.
Amupitan told journalists in Abuja that the commission had yet to receive a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the court judgment and therefore had no basis to remove Atiku’s name from the list of candidates.
“You were asking about the recent judgment of the Federal High Court in respect of the ADC case. As of today, I have not received a CTC of the judgment of the Federal High Court,” he said.
“We don’t just act on the basis of what is on the social media. I remember one of the judgments of the Supreme Court some time ago. Something was posted on the social media, it trended, and the Supreme Court disassociated itself from it.”
Amupitan explained that court judgments are first received by the commission, reviewed by experts and then considered by commissioners before any action is taken.
“But in this case, I had to receive the judgment. So, the judgment is to be received and studied,” he added.
The INEC chairman also addressed a separate Federal High Court order directing him to appear and present the certificates of President Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate.
“Appearing to present certificates. Do you have the order with you? I have not received the order. So, when I receive the order, I will look at what the order says and then know what to do accordingly,” he said.
On reports of irregularities in the voters’ register, Amupitan confirmed that 54 individuals involved in the inclusion of fake persons were INEC staff and that the commission was taking steps against them.
“Are they staff of INEC? Yes, I have the list here. They are all staff of INEC. And we are taking some steps. We are not covering anything,” he said.
