The Independent National Electoral Commission has said it will abide by the final judgement of the courts on former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s eligibility to contest the 2027 presidential election.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, stated this while speaking at Chatham House in London on Thursday, amid the legal battle over the leadership crisis in the African Democratic Congress.
Amupitan said the commission was constitutionally bound to implement court decisions, regardless of their political implications.
He was responding to a question on whether Atiku would remain on the ballot if he failed to overturn a Federal High Court judgement that nullified the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the ADC, under which the former vice-president emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.
“If 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,” the INEC chairman said.
The Federal High Court ruling has thrown the ADC leadership crisis into fresh uncertainty, with the party challenging the decision at the Court of Appeal.
Amupitan, however, expressed concern over the growing number of pre-election cases confronting INEC barely two months before the January 2027 elections.
He disclosed that the commission was currently dealing with more than 300 pending court cases, warning that the litigation could disrupt its preparations for the polls.
“Some of those issues we have with court cases—over 300 cases hanging on the neck of INEC, and elections are just about 66 days away,” he said.
The INEC chairman explained that the commission had already commenced the procurement of sensitive election materials, making prolonged legal disputes a major challenge to its operational plans.
He recalled that when the ADC leadership dispute emerged in April, INEC had pushed for an accelerated hearing to ensure that the matter was resolved within three weeks.
According to him, the commission wanted the dispute settled early enough to enable it to finalise its preparations for the elections.
However, the case dragged on and eventually moved to the Court of Appeal following the ADC’s decision to challenge the lower court’s judgement.
Amupitan warned that last-minute court decisions could place INEC in a difficult position, particularly when the commission was expected to implement judicial pronouncements amid political tensions.
“The danger is that whenever there is such a decision, and it’s up to you to now implement it, you become the problem. The problem now is transferred unto you,” he said.
To address the recurring problem, the INEC chairman called for electoral reforms that would ensure all pre-election disputes were concluded between six months and one year before elections.
He argued that early resolution of political disputes would give the commission sufficient time to plan and conduct credible elections without unnecessary legal complications.