On Saturday, the national leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) called for the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, over allegations of partisanship and misconduct.
This is as the coalition party raised concerns over what it described as attempts to alter digital records to conceal evidence of alleged partisanship.
In a strongly worded statement, the party described as “Deeply disturbing” reports linking the INEC Chairman to a pro-Bola Ahmed Tinubu social media post made in 2023, arguing that such claims undermine confidence in the electoral body.
According to the ADC, the credibility of any democratic process depends heavily on the perceived neutrality of its electoral umpire.
The party maintained that any electoral official found manipulating records cannot be trusted with safeguarding the mandate of the electorate.
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“In a democracy, the umpire must be above suspicion. He must not only be independent, but he must also be seen, beyond any reasonable doubt, to be independent.
“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.
“A man who manipulates records to save himself cannot be trusted to safeguard the mandate of millions,” the statement read.
The party further alleged that the INEC chairman’s conduct, utterances, and what it termed “incontrovertible digital evidence” fall short of the standards required of someone in such a sensitive position.
“The referee cannot be running around in the shirt of one of the teams he’s supposed to officiate in a match,” the statement noted.
Insisting on immediate action, the ADC said, “This is why Professor Amupitan must resign. Now. Anything less is an insult to the Nigerian people and a dangerous precedent for our democracy.”
The party also disclosed plans to escalate the matter through formal petitions to relevant institutions, including foreign governments and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
It added that it would intensify civil disobedience actions until the INEC chairman steps down.
