The African Democratic Congress has called for the immediate removal of the Independent National Electoral Commission chairman, Professor Amupitan Joash, accusing the commission of partisanship and complicity in an alleged plot to impose a one-party state ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking at a press conference at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on Thursday, ADC National Chairman David Mark alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress is using INEC to weaken opposition parties.
“The agenda is very clear: to create a situation where, in 2027, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerges as the only option left for the people, despite the widespread suffering and wanton killings going on across the country,” Mark said.
He added, “The twin challenge of deepening poverty and a worsening security situation in the country did not just happen. They are direct consequences of the failure of this government. They know that Nigerians will not want this to continue. They know Nigerians will vote them out. This is why they would do anything to hang on to power by hook or crook.”
Mark’s demand follows INEC’s announcement on Wednesday that it had delisted key ADC figures, including Mark as National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary. The commission said the decision complied with a court order directing it to maintain the status quo pending the determination of a case before a trial court.
The ADC has been embroiled in a leadership crisis since July 2025, when a National Executive Committee meeting dissolved the previous working committee and inaugurated a new leadership with Mark as chairman. Mark insisted that INEC officials monitored that meeting and that the commission later uploaded the names of the new leaders on its portal on September 9, 2025.
Mark accused INEC of acting in contempt of the Court of Appeal, which had directed all parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum. He argued that the commission invented a situation that leaves the ADC without leadership.
“What INEC has done is to create a situation that, by its own curious logic, leaves the ADC without leadership. This certainly cannot be the status quo that the Court of Appeal directed should be preserved. It is an INEC invention that is not known to any Nigerian law,” he said.
Mark also addressed President Tinubu directly, saying, “With 90% of the National Assembly and over 30 of Nigeria’s 36 governors in the APC, President Tinubu, what are you afraid of? If you are convinced that you have done well for the people who voted for you, why are you afraid of a free, fair, and transparent electoral contest?”
He warned that INEC’s decision has already undermined the ADC’s participation in upcoming governorship elections in Osun and Ekiti states, as well as its planned congresses starting April 9 and convention on April 14.
“We demand the immediate resignation or sack of the INEC Chairman, Professor Amupitan, and all the National Commissioners. We no longer have confidence in them. We are convinced that they are incapable of conducting any credible election,” Mark said.
He added that the ADC, under his leadership, will continue with its party activities, maintaining that there is no legal provision that makes INEC’s presence compulsory.
