*As Senior Lawyer Clarifies INEC’s Role Under Section 82 of Electoral Act 2022, Says “Attendance Is Discretionary”
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Dr. Sam Amadi, Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, has defended the ongoing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) convention as “valid and legally recognised,” attributing the surrounding controversy to contradictory court rulings and what he described as regulatory failures by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In an interview on Arise News’ News Night on Saturday, Amadi addressed the leadership crisis fueling debate over the legitimacy of the convention. He stressed that the most recent court order issued on Friday explicitly permitted the event to proceed and nullified earlier conflicting injunctions. “This convention has legalisation,” Amadi said. “If I recall, the latest decision that came in on Friday was in favour of the convention. So you can’t say it is not legal. Unfortunately, we have courts authorising and counter-authorising actions and that is the real problem.”
Amadi described the judicial inconsistencies as part of a wider structural failure within Nigeria’s electoral system. He noted that multiple high courts, both federal and state, issued opposing directives, with one restraining the event and another allowing it. “There are two courts saying different things. One says do not go, you cannot do this. The court in your state says you can do it. For now, those are valid. Whether at the appeal you cancel one and say this is right or wrong, those are for now academic. There is no clearance and nobody has said which is wrong.”
He criticised the growing trend of political actors rushing to secure favourable injunctions instead of following established processes, likening the situation to lawyers “running up and down the staircase collecting orders here and there.” According to him, courts have enabled the problem by issuing “contradictory and unnecessary ex parte orders,” often secured strategically by different factions. “These guys are just buying up judgments because why should courts find themselves issuing very contradictory decisions on very simple matters? There is a party, there is a chairman, there is a board of trustees.”
Amadi also faulted INEC for failing to assert its statutory role as a quasi-judicial regulator. “I have argued this for four years. INEC’s lack of understanding of administrative rules and regulatory processes is a problem,” he said. He outlined the ideal sequence: political parties decide their leadership internally based on their constitutions and guidelines, then present the documents to INEC, which verifies compliance and makes factual determinations before any need for judicial review. “The court only comes in to review regulator decisions. First, the party is the decider and they file into the regulator. INEC reviews the facts. INEC is a finder of fact and acts as if it is a court because the law says INEC is a regulator of parties.”
Drawing on his academic and regulatory experience, Amadi accused INEC of deferring to courts prematurely and creating what he called a “theatre of absurd uncertainty.” He compared the situation to a banking dispute where two rival boards claim control. “They approach the Central Bank of Nigeria. The CBN makes the finding. You can go to the court and say CBN did not do what is right,” he said. “If INEC says this is the board after due process, then you have to do a lot of work to convince the court that it was wrong.” Courts, he added, should defer to reasonable regulatory decisions.
Amadi dismissed interpretations suggesting that the Supreme Court completely bars courts from intervening in party matters. He said such a reading is incorrect, noting that the court only bars judges from selecting party leaders, which is a political function, but still allows judicial review to ensure that parties comply with their rules. “The court does not select leadership for the party. It is a political decision. But what the court does is to watch and make sure the parties follow their rules and make their decisions. They chose those rules. So the court can still look at whether somebody used the wrong process.”
Assessing the facts of the PDP crisis, Amadi argued that the legitimacy of the existing Board of Trustees and National Working Committee is clear. “The BoT that chairs has been there for over three years. Suddenly you construct a new BoT in an office of APC. Factually, it cannot just happen that way,” he said. “Up until two or three weeks ago, there was a party, there was a BoT, there was NWC. The guy who is the new chairman, they have been working as chairman and secretary.” He urged INEC to base its actions on verifiable evidence. “INEC is the one with the data, the ground zero of each party. The courts are off there. They look at the law and first ask whether INEC made the right decision.”
On the PDP’s recent expulsion of top figures, including Nyesom Wike and Ayodele Fayose, Amadi stressed that the process must follow established rules. “There must be a rule process for terminating membership of a party. It cannot be just happenstance,” he said. He observed that political parties generally disapprove of members going to court without exhausting internal mechanisms and insisted that a properly constituted convention has the authority to take decisions. “If they take action with due process, then the expulsion has legal validity.”
However, he questioned the loyalty of those expelled, saying their conduct since 2023 has raised concerns. “I do not understand how party leaders can deliberately be working against their party for too long. You cannot be the leader of the party and you are holding meetings in APC facilities. Anybody objective will say, convince me that this guy is actually in this party.” He encouraged internal engagement rather than parallel political activity. “It will be nice for them to be in the same place, debate and quarrel over these issues. They can go to NEC and, if necessary, go to court. But it should not be that you seem to be working against the party.”
Amadi concluded that the convention stands for now, pending final clarification from higher courts. He called for stronger regulatory enforcement by INEC to reduce uncertainty and stabilise internal party processes.
Meanwhile, a senior lawyer who did not want his name mentioned told TheNigeriaLawyer that attendance of INEC at any political party convention or congress is not mandatory under the Electoral Act 2022. He cited Section 82 of the Act, which provides that political parties must give INEC at least 21 days notice before holding conventions or congresses for electing officers or nominating candidates. Once the 21 days notice requirement is fulfilled, INEC’s attendance is discretionary.
According to the lawyer, INEC may attend but is not compelled to do so, and non-attendance does not invalidate any convention. He added that PDP has taken a bolder stance by proceeding with its convention despite media narratives and political pressure.
The lawyer emphasised that what is mandatory is the 21 days notice to INEC. Failure to issue such notice invalidates the convention, but INEC’s absence does not.
He stated that Section 82 of the Act makes this clear and described the attempt to portray the PDP convention as illegal due to INEC’s non-attendance as a political narrative rather than a legal one.
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