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A group of Nigerians, under the aegis of the Concerned Nigerian Youth Forum, gathered in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday to rally support for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following its recent verdict on the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
INEC announced on Wednesday that it would no longer recognise the ADC faction led by former senator David Mark or that of Nafiu Gombe, who claims leadership of the ADC. The commission removed Mark and his team’s names from its official portal and said it will not engage with either faction until the leadership dispute is resolved in court.
It added that it would not monitor any conventions or congresses organised by groups aligned with the affected leaders until the legal dispute is resolved.
ADC’s supporters vowed to #OccupyINEC in protest starting from Thursday. There was a heavy security presence in Maitama, Abuja, home to the INEC headquarters, this morning.
Credit: News Central.
The convener of the Concerned Nigerian Youth Forum, Adeyeye Olugbenga, who spoke to News Central on Thursday, said Nigerian youths will support INEC against attempts by ADC politicians to undermine it.
“We observe that their campaign of calumny, which is an undue attack against INEC and its leadership by some mischievous politicians, by some persons who claim to be in the opposition against the establishment. We, as conscious Nigerian youth, have observed, especially given INEC’s excellent performance in the recently concluded local government election in the FCT,” said Olugbenga.
“It was a litmus test, and you will agree with me that the INEC as an umpire of election, they performed credibly well. But we observe that the INEC, as a law-abiding agency, has derecognised the ADC leadership in compliance with the court’s ruling. Instead of them approaching the court, they have begun to launch all manner of disparaging and demeaning attacks against Inec. We have come out to say that we are solidly behind INEC.”
