The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has urged the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to thank the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its timely decision to withdraw recognition of the factions of the party’s leadership.
ThelensNG reports that Senator David Mark’s leadership alleged on Thursday that INEC took sides in its decision, calling for the resignation or removal of the electoral body’s Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan.
Reacting to the development on Friday, Keyamo stated that David Mark’s faction of the ADC cannot rely on emotional reasoning or blackmail to navigate a legal problem they created for themselves.
“Unfortunately for them, law does not admit of sentiment. Decisions are based on facts, evidence, and the interpretation of laws, rather than on sympathy, emotion or political considerations,” he said.
The Minister noted that those arguing about the ‘status quo ante bellum’ are wasting time chasing shadows instead of focusing on the substantive issue.
He explained that whether INEC recognises either faction for now is irrelevant, stressing that what matters is that there is a pending court challenge regarding the party’s leadership, brought by a duly elected Deputy National Chairman.
“As long as that case remains in court, all the actions of either faction may end up being nugatory after the deadline for nominations of candidates by INEC. The implication is that the ADC may end up having no candidate for the election,” he asserted.
Keyamo continued: “Therefore, instead of vilifying INEC, the ADC should rather thank INEC for this timely action of de-recognising both factions before the close of the window for nominating candidates.
“It has duly forewarned the party of the danger ahead and opened a window for them to either find a new, risk-free platform or ask for accelerated hearing of the case in court, or politically settle the leadership question in the party quickly.”
The Minister argued that blaming imaginary opponents or INEC is unproductive, emphasising that neither the APC nor INEC forced these experienced politicians to hijack an existing platform without proper legal advice or ensuring full leadership compliance.
“They say they will proceed with their congresses and convention despite INEC’s decision and the ruling of the Court of Appeal. That is fine by us,” he stated, cautioning that political processes must follow the law.
