The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has dismissed claims that a rival faction led by Nafiu Bala Gombe uploaded the names of presidential and other candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination portal for the 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, on Monday, the party described the claim as false and urged INEC to investigate what it called a potential forgery involving documents purportedly linked to the commission.
The party maintained that INEC only grants access to its nomination portal to the leadership it officially recognises and cannot issue multiple access codes to different factions of the same political party.
“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) wishes to draw the attention of the media and the general public to false reports claiming that a group led by Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe has uploaded the names of a presidential candidate and other nominees to the INEC nomination portal. The claim is a blatant lie,” the statement said.
The ADC added, “INEC does not issue nomination portal access or nomination codes to a leadership it does not recognise. Secondly, the Commission will not issue two codes to the same party.”
The party questioned the authenticity of the reported upload and asked for proof that any nomination had been made by a group it said was not recognised by law or by the electoral body.
“The question, therefore, is straightforward: where is the evidence of this purported upload by a group of individuals not known by law or the electoral body?” it asked.
The party also called on INEC to investigate what it described as the possible forgery and unauthorised use of documents bearing the commission’s name.
“We are also, by this statement, formally drawing the attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to what appears to be the forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly emanating from the Commission in a manner capable of creating confusion and undermining public confidence in its integrity and reputation as Nigeria’s electoral umpire,” the statement read.
The ADC insisted that the party was not divided and said only the leadership recognised by INEC had access to the nomination portal and had completed the nomination process in line with the Electoral Act and the commission’s guidelines.
The party further stated that only its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, had been uploaded to the INEC portal.
“As we informed the public last week, the details of our Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (GCON), and our Vice-Presidential Candidate, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi (CON), have been uploaded on the INEC portal. Those are the facts,” the statement said.
The ADC urged its members, supporters, the media and the public to ignore what it described as attempts to mislead Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections.
“As the election approaches, there will be repeated attempts to distract the party and mislead the public. We will not be distracted. Our focus remains firmly on presenting Nigerians with a credible alternative that can restore security, tackle the rising cost of living, revive the economy, create jobs, and return the country to the path of progress in 2027,” the party said.
