The All Progressives Congress (APC) has backed the de-recognition of the factional leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying the David Mark-led executive hijacked the party.
On Wednesday, INEC said it would no longer accept
correspondence from either faction of the ADC led by Mark or Nafiu Bala Gombe,
following its review of the March 12 judgment of the court of appeal.
In a statement, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, INEC commissioner for
information and voter education, said the commission would also refrain from
engaging with both groups or monitoring their meetings, congresses, and
conventions pending the determination of the case before the federal high
court.
In furtherance of its resolution, INEC removed the names of
the Mark-led ADC executives from its portal, saying the move was pursuant to
the appeal court verdict, which ordered that the status quo be maintained until
the matter is decided by the trial court.
The decision sparked outrage on social media, with the
Mark-led ADC swiftly rejecting INEC’s interpretation of the appellate court
judgment on the party’s leadership dispute.
In a statement, Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC national publicity
secretary, alleged that the electoral body acted under pressure from “a
government panicked by the opposition momentum despite its efforts to destroy
all opposition parties and foist a one-party rule on Nigeria”.
Speaking on News Central TV on Thursday, Felix Morka, APC
national publicity secretary, described the protracted legal battles involving
the Mark-led ADC as self-inflicted.
He accused the faction of hijacking the party, insisting
that the ruling party had no hand in the legitimacy crisis facing the ADC.
“INEC decision to de-recognise the David Mark executive was
utterly self-inflicted. APC didn’t do that. You orchestrate the hijack of the
ADC by that executive. We didn’t. They did,” Morka said.
“They did that, you know, completely ignoring the rule of
law, ignoring the constitution of the party they were putting themselves into.”
He said the ADC has a constitution that stipulates its
leadership composition and succession plan, but the Mark-led executive
disregarded it.
“You come in with your parachutes; you take over the party
without reference to the constitutional stipulation about succession and how
leadership is ordered in that party. This is the consequence,” Morka added.
He said the entire crisis was caused by the Mark-led
leadership, which is “complaining now and pointing fingers at the APC”, adding
that the ruling party is not bothered by the situation.
He also dismissed concerns over the defection of Rabiu Musa
Kwankwaso, former governor of Kano, to the ADC.
“We are not moved by Kwankwaso joining the ADC,” he said,
adding that opposition parties are “obsessed” with the APC.
“As I’ve always maintained, we are only concerned about our
level of preparation and the efforts we are making; we’re concerned about
ourselves,” Morka said.
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