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Politics

Atiku Accuses INEC of Granting ADC Rival Faction Access to Candidate Portal

By Site Administrator · Jul 13, 2026 · 257 views
Atiku Accuses INEC of Granting ADC Rival Faction Access to Candidate Portal


...Alleges commission’s action undermines opposition ahead of 2027 polls






 
By Bassey Umeh
















Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of unlawfully granting access to its candidate nomination portal to a faction of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement released in Abuja on Monday, the Atiku Media Office alleged that the move was deliberate and designed to weaken opposition political parties.
According to the statement, Nafiu Bala Gombe, described as an impostor laying claim to the ADC national chairmanship, announced on July 11 that he had uploaded the names of his candidates onto INEC’s candidate nomination portal.
The media office contended that only the leadership duly recognized by INEC is entitled to access the portal in accordance with the commission’s guidelines for the 2027 elections.
It further alleged that by issuing an access code to Gombe, INEC acted in violation of its own regulations and displayed political bias.
“By granting an access code to Bala Gombe, a pretender whose claim to the ADC chairmanship has no legal backing, while INEC has already validated the Senator David Mark-led executive, the electoral umpire has once again demonstrated partisanship,” the statement read.
The office maintained that the ADC executive headed by former Senate President, Senator David Mark, remains the only legally recognized leadership of the party. It added that any list of candidates submitted by Gombe has no legal effect.
It questioned how two persons could be recognized simultaneously as national chairman of the same party, stressing that only the Mark-led leadership is constitutionally empowered to submit candidates to INEC.
“The so-called successful upload of candidates by Nafiu Bala Gombe has neither legal basis nor support under INEC’s own guidelines. Nafiu Bala Gombe is not recognized as ADC chairman. Mark is the duly recognized chairman. Perhaps that is only possible under an INEC led by Amupitan,” the statement added.
The Atiku Media Office also alleged that Gombe did not conduct valid party primaries in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022. It argued that only candidates nominated by the recognized ADC leadership can lawfully contest elections.
Describing INEC’s action as unconstitutional and unlawful, the office stated:  “The granting of access to Nafiu Bala Gombe is unconstitutional and unlawful. The only candidates known to law are those submitted by David Mark. Any parallel submission by Nafiu Bala Gombe is null and void.”
The media office urged INEC to publicly clarify how Gombe obtained access to the portal and called on the commission to desist from actions capable of stoking internal crises within opposition parties.
As at the time of filing this report, INEC had not responded to the allegations or issued any statement on the claims made by the Atiku Media Office.

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