Politics

ADC Leadership Derecognition: Amupitan Acting Out A Prearranged Script – Odinkalu Alleges

ByHafsoh Isiaq

PublishedApril 2, 2026

A former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, has voiced his opinion on the derecognition of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging undue influence and procedural irregularities.

In a strongly worded post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Odinkalu claimed that INEC’s decision followed a series of high-level meetings involving senior officials of the Commission and key judicial authorities, including representatives of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, as well as the Nigerian Presidency.

According to him, the development within the last 60 hours suggests that the electoral body may not have acted independently. He further alleged that the Chairman of INEC, Professor Joash Amupitan, had a pre-signed resignation letter submitted as a condition for his appointment—an instrument he claimed was used as leverage to compel the Commission’s recent action.

Odinkalu argued that it is not within INEC’s constitutional role to interpret rulings of the Court of Appeal, stressing that any ambiguity in the court’s decision should have been clarified through a formal request for interpretation.

He described the situation as a troubling development for Nigeria’s democracy, warning that the country is approaching a critical juncture ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The post reads: “This release by @inecnigeria followed a meeting involving senior leaders of the Commission, & @NGRPresident, @CourtOfAppealNG, @FederalHigh in the last 60 hours.

“I have it on the most impeccable authority that there is a pre-signed resignation letter by Chairman Amupitan. It was a pre-condition for his appointment. Ultimately, that had to be called in aid by those who persuaded him to issue this release. The threat of releasing it did the magic.

It should be evident to a professor of law & #SAN that is not the business of @inecnigeria to interpret the decision of the Court of Appeal. If they had any doubt, an #INEC governed by good faith should have gone back to the Court of Appeal to secure an interpretation of the decision.

But that is not where we are now. The country stares down a barrel & only those willing to enable that, make peace with it, or dare it will be able to sniff the stakes in #NigeriaDecides2027.”

Hafsoh Isiaq

Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.