Former National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ralph Nwosu, has alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) decision to derecognise the party’s leadership was politically motivated.
Nwosu made the claim during an interview on Channels Television, reacting to the commission’s removal of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and secretary of the party, respectively.
INEC had said its action followed a court order directing it to maintain the “status quo ante bellum” pending the determination of a suit challenging the legality of the party’s leadership. However, Nwosu disagreed with the commission’s interpretation of the ruling.
“The INEC interpretation is wrong, what the Appeal Court did is wrong and they’re all inspired by the Jagaban of Nigerian politics,” he said.
He further alleged bias within the electoral body, claiming that its leadership is aligned with the ruling party.
“And now, it’s clear that Amupitan is an APC member and the Jagaban of Nigeria seems to have collapsed some agencies and judges to sing the song of APC,” Nwosu added.
The former party chairman linked the development to what he described as a broader pattern in Nigeria’s political landscape, alleging a sustained effort to weaken opposition parties.
“Since 2019, one individual seized the politics of Lagos despite the diversity of the city and continuously collapsed other parties to sing the APC song. When he became the president, he imagined he can do the same thing as far as Nigeria is concerned, and that is what Nigerians are resisting,” he said.
