INEC Rejects Atiku's Claims About Rival Faction Access

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed claims by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. He alleged that INEC gave the African Democratic Congress (ADC) faction led by Nafiu Gombe access to upload candidates' names to its nomination portal.

A senior INEC official, who did not want to be named, spoke to PUNCH Online on Tuesday. They said that only the leadership of the ADC led by David Mark is recognized by the commission.

PUNCH Online noted that INEC's response came after Atiku's Media Office claimed INEC helped weaken the opposition. They alleged that Gombe was granted access to the nomination portal, despite the fact that the David Mark-led leadership is the only one recognized by INEC.

Atiku's team also accused INEC's chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, of causing problems within opposition parties. They claimed he is pushing President Bola Tinubu’s interests ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In response, the senior official denied that Gombe or his team received access to the nomination portal. They stated that INEC follows the Constitution, the Electoral Act, and its own regulations strictly.

The official said, "INEC did not give access codes to Nafiu Gombe as claimed by Atiku’s Media Office. INEC operates based on the legal framework guiding elections and the electoral system in Nigeria."

They added, "We are talking about the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, the Electoral Act, and INEC’s guidelines and regulations."

The official emphasized that the recognized leadership of ADC, according to INEC's records, is that of Senator David Mark. They said, "If you go to our portal right now, Senator David Mark is the chairman of the ADC, while Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is the Secretary."

They continued, "According to records, INEC did not give Nafiu Gombe access codes. So, whatever anyone is saying, we are not really interested."

The official also pointed out that Gombe does not have the legal standing to submit candidates' names. They said he is not recognized as the party's chairman. They stressed that Gombe and his aides did not receive access codes to the nomination portal.

They explained, "It’s as good as saying that Nafiu Gombe cannot upload the names of candidates on the INEC portal because he is not the officially recognized chairman of the ADC. Gombe, or any of his agents, aides or close allies did not get any access codes from INEC to upload names of candidates. In fact, the question is which portal did they upload the names? INEC does not recognize anything from Nafiu Gombe."

INEC also rejected the claims that Amupitan is involved in the internal leadership dispute of the ADC or is working to undermine opposition parties.

The official said, "The allegation by Atiku’s Media Office that Amupitan is trying to weaken opposition parties is a baseless allegation. The attempt to drag Amupitan into political parties’ internal crisis is an exercise in futility."

They noted, "Amupitan did not go to court. Amupitan did not drag Nafiu Gombe to court and Amupitan did not drag the David Mark-led ADC to court; it’s a party crisis, so why are they trying to drag Amupitan into it?"

The official added, "The allegations are baseless. They should rather focus on strengthening their party than blaming Amupitan for their problems. As I earlier mentioned, Nafiu Gombe is not officially recognized and cannot have access to upload the names of candidates on INEC’s portal."

PUNCH Online reported that the controversy began after Atiku’s Media Office issued a statement on Monday. They alleged that Gombe claimed to have uploaded the names of ADC candidates to INEC’s nomination portal. Atiku said this showed partisanship by the electoral commission.

The ADC also released a statement on Tuesday through its spokesperson, Bolaji Abdullahi. They denied that Gombe or his faction uploaded any candidates’ names to INEC’s portal. They insisted that INEC recognizes only the David Mark-led leadership and could not have given a separate access code to any rival group.

The party called on INEC to investigate claims of forgery and unauthorized use of documents that supposedly came from the electoral body. This follows claims by a rival faction that they uploaded the names of the party’s presidential candidate and other nominees to INEC’s nomination portal.

The leadership struggle in the ADC has grown since Mark became the party’s National Chairman and Rauf Aregbesola became National Secretary. These changes have faced challenges from rival factions as political alignments shift ahead of the 2027 general elections.