The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of partisanship and violating electoral guidelines.
The accusation followed claims by a renegade ADC member, Nafiu Bala Gombe, that he successfully uploaded candidates’ names onto the commission’s nomination portal ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement by his Media office, Atiku questioned the legality of INEC allegedly granting portal access to Gombe, whom it described as a “pretender” to the office of ADC National Chairman.
The controversy followed Gombe’s announcement on July 11, 2026, that he had uploaded the names of his candidates to the INEC portal as part of preparations for the 2027 elections.
But INEC has failed to disclaim Gombe’s false claim, thereby creating confusion among ADC members and the general public as well.
According to the statement, the uploading of candidates’ names is a process reserved for recognised political party leadership through access codes issued by INEC in line with its guidelines.
Atiku camp alleged that the electoral body had failed to clarify whether it granted access to Gombe, despite what it described as a contradiction of both the law and INEC’s own regulations.
“By granting an access code to Bala Gombe, a pretender, laying claims to the chairmanship of the ADC, though the law is not on his side and INEC has since validated the chairmanship of the Sen. David Mark-led exco, the electoral umpire is once again manifesting its partisanship,” the statement said.
The former vice president further alleged that INEC, under the leadership of Prof. Joash Amupitan, was repeating what it termed past actions that contributed to internal disputes within the party.
It maintained that the purported submission of candidates by Gombe was invalid because he was not recognised as the party’s national chairman.
“The so-called successful uploading of candidates by Nafiu Bala Gombe is neither grounded in law nor supported by INEC’s own guidelines. Nafiu Bala Gombe is not recognised as ADC Chairman. Mark is duly recognised,” the statement added.
Questioning the possibility of parallel leadership within the party, Atiku argued that INEC could not lawfully issue two access codes to the same political party.
He warned that any such action could trigger a crisis within the ADC and accused the commission of undermining opposition parties.
He also cited provisions of Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022, which require political parties to conduct recognised primaries and submit only validly nominated candidates to INEC.
According to the statement, no valid primaries were conducted by Gombe’s group, making any candidate submission from that faction “null and void.”
“The INEC granting of access code to Nafiu Bala Gombe is unconstitutional and unlawful. The only submitted candidates known to the law are those of David Mark. Any parallel submission, such as Nafiu Bala Gombe’s, is null and void,” the statement said.
The Atiku camp called on Prof. Amupitan to desist from what it described as actions capable of creating unnecessary crises within opposition parties, alleging that such developments ultimately benefit the ruling administration.
INEC had not responded to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
