Eshioromeh Sebastian, Abuja
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised the stakes in its battle with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan.
The opposition party is now threatening to make embark on total civil disobedience if the INEC boss refuses to resign from his position.
The ADC has been calling for Amupitan’s resignation for some time, giving him low ratings repeatedly. The latest controversy started when a United States-based Nigerian scholar, Farooq Kperogi, published an article claiming that old posts on an X account bearing Amupitan’s name showed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) before he became INEC chairman. Kperogi argued that the alleged posts undermine public confidence in the neutrality of the electoral umpire.
The publication triggered a wave of reactions on social media, with Nigerians divided over whether the old tweets were authentic or fake.
Before the ADC reacted, Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, had warned about impersonators and cybercriminals using fake identities to spread misinformation. He reaffirmed INEC’s commitment under Amupitan to conduct free, fair and credible elections and urged the public to rely only on verified communication channels.
But the ADC was not convinced. On Saturday, the party’s spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, issued a strong statement. He said the alleged pro-Tinubu tweet from 2023 was deeply troubling.
“The recent revelation linking a pro-Bola Ahmed Tinubu tweet of 2023 to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Amupitan, is not merely disturbing, it is a grave affront to the integrity of our electoral system,” Abdullahi said.
He explained why neutrality is essential for any election umpire.
“In a democracy, the umpire must be above suspicion. He must not only be independent, he must be seen, beyond any reasonable doubt, to be independent. That is the minimum standard required of anyone entrusted with the sacred duty of conducting free and fair elections,” he added.
Abdullahi then accused Amupitan of trying to cover up his past.
“However, more troubling is the desperate attempt to tamper with digital records, to erase evidence of his previous partisanship. This is not a trivial matter. It is a calculated assault on truth and accountability,” he said.
He argued that a man who behaves that way cannot be trusted with the nation’s elections.
“A man who manipulates records to save himself cannot be trusted to safeguard the mandate of millions,” Abdullahi stated.
He said the evidence against Amupitan has been clear over time.
“Over the past few days, it has been repeatedly revealed that Professor Amupitan, by his conduct, his utterances, and now by incontrovertible digital evidence, has fallen far below the standard expected of an electoral umpire,” he said.
Abdullahi then used a simple analogy to make his point clear.
“The referee cannot be running around in the shirt of one of the teams he’s supposed to officiate in a match,” he said.
He made the ADC’s demand very clear.
“This is why Professor Amupitan must resign. Now. Anything less is an insult to the Nigerian people and a dangerous precedent for our democracy,” he said.
The ADC spokesman also revealed the party’s next steps.
“Relying on this evidence, ADC will be updating our petitions to all relevant institutions, including to foreign governments and the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA,” Abdullahi said.
Then came the biggest threat. He said the ADC is done with just petitions.
“We will also renew and escalate our civil disobedience action until the INEC Chairman leaves office,” he warned.
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