The Atiku Media Office has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of aiding what it described as an alleged agenda by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to weaken opposition political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the media office alleged that the electoral umpire acted unlawfully by granting access to its candidate nomination portal to Nafiu Bala Gombe, whom it described as a claimant to the national chairmanship of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
It maintained that Senator David Mark’s leadership remained the recognised party executive.
The statement followed Gombe’s announcement on Saturday that he had successfully uploaded the names of ADC candidates to INEC’s portal, a process reserved for political parties participating in the 2027 general elections.
According to the Atiku Media Office, the commission has failed to clarify the circumstances surrounding the alleged access granted to Gombe, a development it said contradicts both the law and INEC’s own guidelines.
“By granting access code to Bala Gombe, a pretender laying claim 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 executive, the electoral umpire is once again manifesting its partisanship,” the statement read.
It further alleged that the action mirrored previous decisions by the commission, which it claimed contributed to internal disputes within the party.
The media office insisted that Gombe’s purported submission of candidates lacked legal backing because, according to it, he is not the recognised national chairman of the ADC.
“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. David Mark is duly recognised. Can there be two recognised chairmen of a political party? Certainly not,” it stated.
Questioning the commission’s handling of the matter, the Atiku Media Office argued that granting access to an unrecognised party leadership could trigger avoidable disputes within the opposition.
It also alleged that the development was part of a broader strategy to destabilise opposition parties ahead of the next general election.
“What INEC has done is a recipe for crisis and confirms that Prof. Joash Amupitan was appointed to enable the weakening of the opposition parties by creating crisis even where none exists,” the statement alleged.
The media office further cited provisions of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022, arguing that candidates of political parties must emerge through duly recognised primaries supervised by INEC and that only one validly nominated candidate can be submitted for each elective office.
“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,” it maintained.
The statement called on INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to refrain from actions it said could fuel crises within the ADC and other opposition parties, alleging that such actions would advance President Tinubu’s “agenda of total state capture.”
INEC had yet to respond to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.
