By Akinwale Kasali
Following the call for the immediate resignation of Prof. Joash Amupitan, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Chairman by opposition Party, African Democratic Congress, ADC, the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro, on Thursday accused the Party of mischief and unnecessarily heating up the polity.
Moro warned that such calls could further heighten political tension in the country.
The former Minister of Interior said this while speaking in an interview on Arise Television. He cautioned against the continuous escalation of political tension through protests and public agitation.
The Senator who represents Benue South Senatorial District stated that the demand was not new in Nigeria’s political history and should not be seen as the ultimate solution to electoral disputes.
He said: “If you are a very good student of Nigerian political history, you will know that this is not the first time a political party has insisted or demanded that the Chairman of the electoral umpire should resign. I don’t think that is the ultimate.
“Assuming, without conceding, that the INEC Chairman resigns today, who is going to midwife the 2027 election? If you are saying that the INEC Chairman is biased, the concomitant implication is that the electoral body is no longer capable of conducting the election.
“So because he is accused of misinterpreting, he should resign. I don’t believe in that. And I don’t believe in the constant raising of the political temperature of this country by this constant protest.”
He criticised what he described as the continuous heating up of the polity through protests, noting that recent demonstrations have largely been driven by the ADC despite the party being just one of several parties in the electoral process.
“You saw the protest yesterday by members of the ADC. The ADC is just one political party out of the 19 that are participating in the electoral process in Nigeria. And so if you look at the protests that have been going on, it’s all about ADC. If they want to unseat President Tinubu, Fine, it’s their legitimate right. But is that how to go about it?
“If you say they misinterpreted the pronouncement of the court, status quo ante bellum, lawyers have given different interpretations. They say maintain the status quo as it was before the crisis. What is the misinterpretation there? Don’t forget that the various political actors in ADC are in Court for various reasons.
“The political persons you saw there left their various political parties and say that they are adopting ADC as their platform to unseat the President. So if you want to adopt a platform, do you go to take over the platform? Instead of going through the process and exonerating themselves, they are on the streets,” he argued.
It would be recalled that INEC and ADC have been at loggerheads following the delisting of key ADC figures, including David Mark; ADC National Chairman and the Party’s National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, citing compliance with a court order directing the commission to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the case before a trial court.
ADC has, however, raised alarm, alleging that there is a calculated plot to impose a one-party state ahead of the 2027 general elections, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of using INEC to weaken opposition parties.
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