The Obidient movement has called for the resignation of chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan and declared a nationwide protest over the delisting of the David Mark-led executives of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Following the protracted leadership crisis that has rocked the ADC, culminating in endless legal disputes between the David Mark faction and the Nafiu Bala Gombe group, INEC on Wednesday said it would no longer accept correspondence from either factions.
The commission premised its decision on the 12 March judgment of the court of appeal, which it said, directed parties to maintain the status quo on the leadership dispute until the matter is decided by the trial court.
In a statement, INEC commissioner for information and voter education, Mohammed Kudu Haruna 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 appellate court order
The decision sparked outrage on social media, with the Mark-led ADC rejecting INEC’s interpretation of the judgment.
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’.
Obidient Movement Calls For Protest
Reacting in a statement on Thursday, national coordinator of the Obidient Movement, Yunusa Tanko said the group would commence a nationwide protest tagged #OccupyINEC.
‘There are moments in the life of a nation when silence becomes dangerous and inaction becomes complicity. Nigeria has arrived at such a moment’, the statement reads.
The group alleged that INEC, ‘which should stand as an impartial guardian of the people’s will, is increasingly perceived as compromised under the present administration’, warning that ‘when institutions lose credibility, the will of the people is endangered’.
The movement demanded ‘the resignation of the INEC Chairman for gross abuse of office, loss of public trust, and failure to uphold the neutrality required of that office’, alongside an end to ‘political persecution’, and actions that undermine opposition parties.
‘In defence of these principles, we are commencing a nationwide peaceful protest, #OccupyINEC, starting immediately across all states and the Federal Capital Territory’, the group said.
The movement added that protesters in Abuja would converge at the ADC national headquarters before proceeding in a peaceful march to INEC headquarters, urging Nigerians to ‘organise, mobilise, and participate in a coordinated and disciplined manner’.
‘This moment goes beyond party lines. It is about the survival of democratic values and the protection of the Nigerian state itself’, the statement reads.
‘We will remain peaceful, we will remain lawful, but we will not stand by while our democracy is weakened. Nigeria must not become a one-party state’.
