The National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Mohammed Haruna, says the leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress, (ADC), is a legal matter, stressing that INEC, as a constitutional body, must obey the law in handling the dispute.
Recall that following the resignation of Ralph Nwosu, the leadership dispute in the ADC began after an INEC-observed EXCO meeting, which led to a court matter as Nafiu Bala Gombe claims he never resigned and alleging forgery of his signature.
Speaking with ARISE NEWS on Friday, Haruna said INEC must follow the law as ADC leadership dispute remains in court.
“Essentially the problem is a legal thing. I mean, we’re a creature of the Constitution, and so we have to obey the law,” Haruna stated.
Speaking on concerns about a possible one-party state, Haruna said the risk exists if opposition parties remain disorganised, but stressed that INEC cannot be blamed as the problem stems from internal party management and weak focus on primaries.
“The dangers are there because if the opposition parties are in disarray, then there is a problem. But I don’t know if INEC should be blamed for that, because a lot of these are internal workings of the parties themselves,” he said.
Adding, the INEC National Commissioner said: “One of the problems we have in this country is there’s so much focus on the secondary election, which is the main election, and not on the primary election. The primary elections—that’s the foundation of all the elections. So really, we should be focusing on how parties run their affairs, and you don’t see this in the media. Even the civil society organizations, they don’t focus so much on the internal workings of the political parties, and that’s why we have the problem. I think that’s one of the main reasons.”
Addressing ADC leadership dispute in court, Mohammed Haruna said INEC has no choice but to await the court’s decision before taking any action.
“INEC doesn’t have the luxury of disobeying court orders. So long as the matter gets to the court, our hands are tied. We have to wait for the outcome of the judicial process. So this is where the problem lies,” he said.
Responding to claims about INEC being compromised, Haruna dismissed the claims, saying “it’s not fair”. He reiterated that INEC must act strictly in line with the Constitution and cannot intervene in the ADC dispute while it is before the court.
“I don’t think that’s fair. As I said, once matters are with the judiciary, there’s not much we can do about it. We are a creature of the Constitution, so we have to be seen to obey the Constitution.”
Haruna agreed to return next week for a more detailed discussion on electoral issues ahead of the 2027 elections, including the ongoing African Democratic Congress leadership dispute.
Favour Odima.
