INEC awaits ADC ruling as candidates remain listed

Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission had not received a court judgment nullifying the African Democratic Congress leadership and decisions under it, including the process that nominated Atiku Abubakar for the 2027 presidential election, the commission’s national commissioner Mohammed Kudu Haruna said on November 6. INEC had not met to consider the ruling, and the candidates remained listed on its portal that day.

Haruna, who chairs INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, said the commission could not decide how to respond before receiving a certified copy. He said obtaining one could take about a week. The portal still listed Abubakar as the ADC’s presidential candidate and Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate, contrary to social-media reports that their names had been removed.

The Federal High Court in Abuja, in a judgment delivered by Justice Peter Lifu on November 5, nullified the leadership led by former Senate president David Mark and decisions taken under it. Those decisions included the process that produced Abubakar’s nomination and other candidates put forward by the party. The case was brought by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC deputy national...