Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of aiding what it described as President Bola Tinubu’s agenda to weaken opposition parties, citing the Commission’s alleged granting of access code to a factional ADC leadership.
In a statement signed and released in Abuja on Monday through his media office, Atiku alleged that INEC’s action is already creating confusion ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The statement referenced a 11th July 2026 claim by Nafiu Bala Gombe, who “parades himself as National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC)”, that he had “succeeded in uploading the names of his candidates on the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
According to the statement, uploading of candidates’ names is part of the 2027 election process and is done after INEC grants access codes to political parties in line with its guidelines.
“The uploading of the names of candidates on INEC portal is part of the process of the 2027 General Elections made possible by the granting of access codes to political parties in line with the umpire’s guidelines,” the statement said.
The Atiku Media Office alleged that INEC has “been mum, and has not denied or confirmed this obvious contradiction to the law and its own guidelines.”
It further claimed that by granting access to Bala Gombe, INEC was recognizing “a pretender” to the ADC chairmanship, despite the fact that “the law is not on his side and INEC has since validated the chairmanship of the Sen. David Mark-led exco.”
The statement drew parallels with what it called the conduct of former INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, alleging that he “illegally removed the names of the duly recognised ADC exco following the judicial rascality of Justice Lifu in ignoring a superior ruling of an appellate court.”
“Can there be two recognised Chairmen of a political party? Possibly only in an INEC led by Amupitan. Can INEC grant two access codes to a political party? Certainly not,” the statement added.
Citing the law, the Atiku Media Office said Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022 require that candidates must emerge through primaries conducted by recognized party leadership and supervised by INEC.
“Nafiu Bala Gombe and his criminal gang did not conduct any primaries,” the statement claimed, adding that “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 concluded by calling on Prof. Joash Amupitan to “quit fomenting crisis in the ADC and the other opposition parties and by so doing helping President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of total state capture.”
As at press time, INEC had not issued an official response to the allegations.
