The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed reports circulating on the social media that it removed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi from its portal following Thursday’s Federal High Court judgement nullifying their nomination by the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Malam Mohammed Kudu Haruna, INEC national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), said the commission was yet to receive a copy of the judgement and had not discussed the matter.

Haruna spoke in a telephone interview with Weekend Trust on Friday amid claims on the social media that the commission had already implemented the court’s decision by removing the names of Atiku and Amaechi from its portal.

A check on the commission’s portal by this reporter on Friday, however, showed that the names were still listed, contrary to the claims circulating online.

Reacting to the reports, Haruna questioned the source of the information, insisting that the commission had not received the court judgement.

“I don’t know where that statement came from. Somebody just forwarded it to me. We haven’t received the judgement yet,” he said.

He explained that obtaining a Certified True Copy (CTC) of a court judgement takes time, adding that the commission could not be expected to act on a judgement it had not officially received.

“Usually, it takes about a week for you to get a CTC of the tribunal,” Haruna said.

He further indicated that the commission had not met to deliberate on the judgement, stressing that its position remained guided by the existing judicial process.

The clarification came a day after Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the leadership of the ADC led by former Senate President David Mark and invalidated the party’s actions, including the process that produced Atiku as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.

The judgement followed a suit instituted by a former ADC deputy national chairman, North-East, Nafiu Bala Gombe, who challenged the emergence of the Mark-led leadership.

The court held that the process through which the leadership emerged did not satisfy the requirements for democratic elections under the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.

He consequently nullified the actions taken by the disputed leadership, including the nomination of candidates presented by the party to INEC for the 2027 elections.

The ruling has generated political reactions, with the ADC rejecting and describing it as legally indefensible. The party has also indicated its intention to challenge the decision in court. (Weekend Trust)