Paul Ibe, media aide to the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to explain why it has yet to clarify its position on a Federal High Court judgment upholding the David Mark-led ADC leadership, despite its assurance that it would obey court orders ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Ibe’s reaction followed INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan’s statement that the commission would comply with court decisions concerning Atiku’s participation in the 2027 presidential race.

In a statement on X, while describing obedience to court orders as a legal duty, Ibe argued that the chairman’s assurance left unanswered questions about a July 2, 2026 judgment delivered by Justice Musa Liman, which upheld the emergence of the David Mark-led ADC leadership.

He questioned whether the judgment had been set aside and demanded that INEC identify the specific orders it considers binding, particularly those affecting the ADC leadership and its candidates.

“INEC therefore owes Nigerians a clear explanation of how it intends to reconcile the two decisions—not merely a general declaration that it will obey the judiciary,” Ibe said.

He maintained that his demand was not for INEC to disregard any court ruling but for the commission to account for both judgments and leave any conflict between them to the appropriate appellate court.

Ibe warned against what he described as selective treatment of court decisions, insisting that judgments favourable to the opposition should receive the same consideration as those that do not.

“INEC must demonstrate that its guiding principle is the law—not the political convenience of the outcome,” he added.

‘INEC must explain why ADC judgment is being ignored’ — Atiku’s aide demands answers from Amupitan

The Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has appointed former Ghanaian President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to head its Election Observation Mission to Nigeria ahead of the January 2027 general elections.

The appointment was announced in a statement released by the Office of the Former President on Thursday, November 12, 2026.

According to the statement, Akufo-Addo will oversee the deployment of election observers for Nigeria’s presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled to hold on January 16, 2027.

ECOWAS is expected to deploy a 200-member observer team in accordance with its Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, adopted in 2001.

The mission will comprise representatives of foreign affairs ministries, electoral commissions and ECOWAS ambassadors accredited to Nigeria.

Other participants will be drawn from the ECOWAS Council of the Wise, the regional bloc’s Court of Justice and Parliament, electoral bodies of member states, civil society organisations, media practitioners and election specialists from across West Africa.

The deployment forms part of ECOWAS's regional election monitoring framework, which mandates the organisation to observe electoral processes in member states in line with its democratic governance principles.

Akufo-Addo served as Ghana's president from January 2017 to January 2025, completing two constitutional terms before handing over power to his successor, John Dramani Mahama.

Before his latest appointment, the former Ghanaian leader headed the ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Benin during its presidential election in April 2026.

2027: ECOWAS appoints ex-Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo to lead observers