INEC chairman Joash Amupitan says the commission will obey any Supreme Court ruling on Atiku Abubakar’s eligibility for the 2027 election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will comply with any Supreme Court ruling on whether former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar can contest the 2027 presidential election.
INEC Chairman, Joash Amupitan, gave the assurance on Thursday while speaking at Chatham House in London.
Responding to a question from a Semafor Africa representative on whether Atiku would be allowed to contest if he failed to overturn a Federal High Court judgement affecting the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Amupitan said the commission was constitutionally bound to obey court orders, regardless of their political implications.
“If it travels through the courts and, as you said, he eventually fails, well, I’m obligated under section 285 of the Constitution of Nigeria to obey every court order, especially if it is from the Supreme Court.”
He warned that implementing politically sensitive court decisions could put INEC at the centre of the resulting controversy.
“But the danger is that whenever there’s such a decision, and it’s you who now has to implement it, you become the problem.
“The problem now is transferred to you. But that is the position of the law.”
Amupitan also disclosed that INEC was handling more than 300 court cases, with about 66 days remaining before the 2027 elections.
He said he had previously advocated that pre-election disputes should be resolved between six months and one year before an election to give the commission enough time to prepare.
“I had advocated in several forums that election matters, pre-election matters rather, should be at least a year before the election. Or let’s say six months.”
Amupitan said the growing number of cases was creating additional pressure as INEC had already begun procuring sensitive election materials.
“So that we can face our logistics. Now we have gone into serious procurement of the most sensitive materials. So that’s a very big issue for us,” he added.
The controversy followed a Federal High Court judgement in Abuja last Thursday, in which Justice Peter Lifu sacked the David Mark-led ADC caretaker committee and nullified its decisions, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.
The suit was filed by Nafiu Bala, a former ADC deputy national chairman (North-East), who challenged the party’s leadership arrangement.
The ADC has appealed the judgement and filed an application for a stay of execution. The application is yet to be heard or granted.
Atiku has maintained that he remains in the 2027 presidential race despite the ruling, insisting that no court decision would force him to abandon his ambition.
The former vice-president has also argued that the final decision should rest with Nigerians through the ballot, accusing the ruling party of using political pressure and court manoeuvres to weaken opposition parties.