The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has said the tweet credited to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joah Amupitan, in support of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023, is a grave concern to the integrity of the nation’s electoral system.

ADC National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, in a statement issued on X on Saturday, said 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. That is the minimum standard required of anyone entrusted with the sacred duty of conducting free and fair elections,” Abdullahi stated.

He expressed worry at “the desperate attempt to tamper with digital records, to erase evidence of his previous partisanship,” stating that this is not a trivial matter but an assault on truth and accountability.

“A man who manipulates records to save himself cannot be trusted to safeguard the mandate of millions,” he added.

The ADC spokesperson noted that 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.

“The referee cannot be running around in the shirt of one of the teams he’s supposed to officiate in a match.

“This is why Professor Amupitan must resign. Now. Anything less is an insult to the Nigerian people and a dangerous precedent for our democracy.”

Mallam Abdullahi said ADC would rely on this evidence to update its petitions to all relevant institutions, including foreign governments and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA).

“We will also renew and escalate our civil disobedience action until the INEC Chairman leaves office,” he added.