Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of acting outside its legal bounds by removing former Senate President David Mark from its records as National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress.
INEC had on April 1 announced it would no longer recognise Mark’s leadership of the party, nor the rival faction led by Nafiu Bala, following a Court of Appeal directive ordering parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum — the position before the suit was filed at the Federal High Court.
Speaking during an interview on BBC Newsday on Saturday, Atiku said the electoral body erred by interpreting the appellate court’s interim ruling on the party’s internal affairs.
“We are accusing them of misinterpreting the law, even though it is not their responsibility to do that. The court has already interpreted the law. We are also accusing them of bias,” he said.
When asked whether the alleged bias was aimed at keeping President Bola Tinubu in power, Atiku replied, “For sure.”
The 2023 PDP presidential candidate argued that INEC’s actions contradict Supreme Court rulings holding that internal party affairs are beyond external interference.
“The commission has not acted according to law because we have a number of cases decided even by the Supreme Court that the internal affairs of political parties are not the prerogative of any agency other than the political parties themselves, but they have ignored the ruling of the highest court in the land,” he said.
Atiku described INEC’s removal of Mark-led ADC executives from its website as a threat to Nigeria’s democratic progress and a sign of creeping authoritarianism.
“We call it dictatorship because we have seen evidence of government interference in the electoral process, even in the judicial process in the country,” he said.
The ADC chieftain, who said he has spent four decades fighting to establish democracy in Nigeria, warned that the ruling party is attempting to “completely overthrow” those gains, and called for free and fair elections devoid of government interference.
On national security, Atiku expressed concern over worsening insecurity, questioning the government’s capacity and willingness to address it.
“It is quite ironic and surprising that Nigeria cannot mobilise its armed forces to counter these activities,” he said, alleging possible official collusion that allows insecurity to persist as a tool of intimidation against farmers and business owners.
“You cannot travel; there is no security everywhere. Nigeria has a huge population and young, educated men who can be employed in the security services and protect the country, but that is not happening,” he said.
Atiku also criticised rising unemployment, warning that joblessness is fuelling criminal activity.
“Nigeria has enough resources to ensure there is minimal unemployment. We have vast unemployed young men and women, and there is a tendency for them to go into crime,” he said, calling for stronger private sector participation and government incentives to stimulate job creation.
He expressed optimism that Nigerians would elect the “right people” in 2027.
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