The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will review the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) only after obtaining a certified true copy of the ruling.
INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed this on Wednesday during a webinar organised by the PUNCH Media Foundation.
Haruna said the Commission would need to study the court's decision and obtain legal advice before determining what action to take regarding the party's leadership crisis.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on November 5 nullified the emergence of the Senator David Mark-led ADC National Working Committee and invalidated decisions taken under its leadership.
The judgment also cast uncertainty over the party's preparations for the 2027 general election, including the process through which former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar emerged as its presidential candidate.
The ruling followed a suit instituted by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, who challenged the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.
However, the party has rejected the judgment and proceeded to appeal the decision. It has also filed an application for a stay of execution, urging INEC to refrain from taking any consequential action pending the determination of the appeal.
Speaking on the matter, Haruna explained that the Commission's legal department would examine the judgment upon receiving the certified copy and submit its recommendations through an internal committee before a final decision was reached.
He said INEC had already initiated steps to obtain the court document but could not dictate the pace of the court's administrative processes.
“We can’t rush the courts, but we do our own part. We have a whole legal department. As soon as judgments like this come, what they do, of course, is to go to the courts, to go to the court register, to see if they can obtain it. But they have their own processes,” he said.
According to Haruna, obtaining a certified true copy of a court judgment typically takes about one week.
He noted that although the ruling was delivered towards the end of the previous week, the Commission could only commence its formal review after securing the document.
“So, as soon as we get it, we run a committee system. The department which is in charge of litigation will look into it, then they will advise. There is a committee which is chaired by a national commissioner. They, in turn, will advise the Commission itself, and then the Commission will take a decision on exactly what to do,” he said.
The INEC commissioner stressed that the Commission would not take any position on the ADC leadership dispute without first examining the certified judgment.
“So, for now, until we receive that certified true copy, there’s really nothing that we can do about it,” he added.
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