Rauf Aregbesola, national secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting the electoral body had no lawful reason to stay away from the party’s national convention.
Speaking at the ADC national convention held on Tuesday at the Rainbow Event Centre in Abuja, Aregbesola said the commission failed in its duty by refusing to monitor the exercise.
Ahead of the convention, INEC and the David Mark-led faction of the ADC had been embroiled in a dispute following the commission’s April 1 decision to derecognise internal factions within the party. INEC had maintained it would not engage with any faction until legal disputes were resolved, citing a March 12 Court of Appeal judgment that ordered the maintenance of the status quo.
But the ADC leadership rejected INEC’s position, accusing the commission of bias and undermining opposition politics.
Aregbesola argued that the party complied fully with all legal requirements and had duly notified INEC of the convention.
“We have discharged the responsibility required of us, and at this point, it is the duty of INEC to equally discharge its own constitutionally and lawfully assigned responsibility by attending and monitoring this convention. It’s a duty,” he said.
He described INEC’s absence as improper, adding: “The decision of INEC to refuse to attend and monitor our convention amounts to a dereliction of duty, bordering on a dangerously partisan outlook aimed at unlawfully delegitimising the otherwise legitimate actions of our party, the ADC.”
Citing provisions of the Electoral Act, he insisted that only failure to notify the commission could invalidate a party convention.
“The only condition that would warrant a congress or convention of a party to be invalid is contained in Section 82, Subsection 6 of the Electoral Act 2026,” he said.
Aregbesola maintained that ADC met all statutory obligations, including submitting required documents and membership registers within the stipulated timeframe.
“We are equally required to supply INEC in advance with the list of committees to conduct the congresses and convention,” he said.
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“And we are equally required by the law to give INEC soft and hard copies of the registers of our members 21 days before then. So on the 17th of March, we met all the conditions… all the conditions.”
He further noted that the party had formally communicated with INEC, which acknowledged receipt of the correspondence.
“This is the second letter conveying that. The letter was written by me, signed by the chairman and myself on the 16th, delivered and acknowledged by INEC on the 17th of March. This is it. Media, capture it… so INEC has no hiding place,” he added.
According to him, INEC’s refusal to participate lacked legal justification.
“Since ADC has already given the required notice as stated in Section 82, Subsections 1 and 2, there is no other legitimate ground that INEC can rely on to refuse monitoring our convention,” he said.
He also accused the commission of acting in a way that could weaken opposition parties.
“Except if INEC, as it has become apparent, is on a voyage to destroy ADC, to pave way for APC to coast to victory without any serious challenge,” Aregbesola alleged.
Faulting INEC’s reliance on court rulings, he added: “Hiding under the court of appeal, which did not make any reference to attending or monitoring the ADC convention, amounts to INEC assuming the role of a court, which it is not.”
Aregbesola reaffirmed that ADC remains a legally registered political party with full structures nationwide.
“We wish to remind INEC that ADC remains a registered political party, with registered members and structures from the polling unit level up to the national level. ADC has not been proscribed by any law in Nigeria or court order,” he said.
“It therefore has the right to continue to undertake its legitimate functions under the law.
“We are seriously concerned with the attitude of INEC treating the ADC as a party that has been proscribed and therefore does not exist. It is false, it is wrong, it is unconstitutional, it is bad.”