Thursday April 9, 2026
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it received a petition submitted by the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday. The petition, submitted by National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, was received by National Commissioner Abdullahi Zuru.
However, the ADC has repeatedly called for the removal of INEC Chairperson Prof Joash Amupitan, accusing himm of deliberately misinterpreting a Court of Appeal order to suspend the party’s recognition.
Opposition leaders stage peaceful march to commission headquarters
Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and Peter Obi led a peaceful protest, marching from Maitama Junction to the INEC headquarters in the Maitama district of the federal capital territory. The trio were the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election.
They were defeated by President Bola Tinubu, then the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Others present at the protest included factional National Chairman David Mark, National Secretary Rauf Aregbesola, and Sen Aminu Tambuwal.
Protesters demand democratic space and party recognition
Rotimi Amaechi and former senator Dino Melaye also joined the demonstration. The protesters carried placards and banners with inscriptions such as “Tinubu, let our Democracy breathe”, “Falle daya ce, one term president”, and “I stand with ADC, I stand with Democracy”.
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The opposition party has accused the electoral body of siding with the ruling APC to block its chances of fielding candidates in 2027. This follows INEC’s decision to suspend the recognition of the ADC last week.
The suspension complied with a Court of Appeal ruling directing parties, including INEC, to maintain the status quo ante bellum pending the determination of a leadership crisis. The dispute arose after Bala challenged David Mark’s emergence as national chairman following the resignation of Ralph Nwosu.
Bala insists he should assume leadership in line with the party’s constitution. While Mark’s camp filed an interlocutory appeal ahead of the federal high court’s judgment, it was dismissed by the appellate court.
INEC awaits final court ruling on party factions
In dismissing the appeal, the court asked all parties to maintain the status quo pending the lower court’s ruling on the substantive suit. Consequently, INEC has stopped dealing with either faction until the federal high court determines the case.
The court also ordered that parties should not do anything that would “foist a fait accompli on the trial court or render the proceedings nugatory”.
*BusinessDay
