Youth members of the African Democratic Congress on Thursday staged a protest in Benue State, calling for the resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Joash Amupitan, over the commission’s refusal to recognise the party’s leadership.
The demonstrators, led by the party’s National Youth Leader, Balarabe Rufai, marched to the INEC office in Makurdi, where they submitted a formal complaint, warning that the commission’s stance could undermine democratic participation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Addressing protesters, Rufai faulted INEC’s position, describing it as unacceptable and detrimental to the party’s structure.
He said, “As it stands, the ADC has no recognised leadership. For INEC to say it does not recognise any of our leaders, including David Mark, Rauf Aregbesola, or Ralph Nwosu, is totally unacceptable.”
The youth leader issued an ultimatum to the electoral body, insisting that it must reverse its decision or the INEC chairman should step down.
“It is either INEC reverses its decision without a court order or Amupitan, who has become a spokesperson for the Presidency and the All Progressives Congress, should resign,” he said.
Rufai further accused the INEC boss of acting arbitrarily, urging him to publicly admit error.
“He should come out on national television and state that he acted in error and that the ADC has a recognised leadership,” he added.
The protesters also raised concerns about alleged attempts to shape the 2027 elections, rejecting claims that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would emerge as a sole candidate.
“They are saying Tinubu will be the sole candidate in 2027. We reject that. Amupitan must go,” Rufai declared.
In a related development, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC would escalate the matter by petitioning international bodies, the Nigerian Bar Association, and other relevant institutions.
Abdullahi alleged that “incontrovertible digital evidence” had emerged linking the INEC chairman to a pro-Tinubu social media post in 2023, which he said had further eroded public confidence in the electoral umpire.
According to him, “In any democracy, the credibility of the electoral body depends not only on its independence but also on public perception of its neutrality.”
He warned that any compromise of that standard could threaten the legitimacy of future elections.
Efforts to get a response from INEC were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
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