By Opeyemi Adelakun
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected 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 ahead of the 2027 general election.
The party described the report as false and called on INEC to investigate what it alleged was the forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly issued by the electoral commission.
In a statement issued on Monday by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC maintained that INEC only grants access to its nomination portal to the leadership it officially recognises and cannot issue separate access codes to different factions of the same political party.
“The claim is a blatant lie. 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 statement said.
The party challenged those behind the claim to provide evidence that any nomination was uploaded by a group it said lacked legal recognition.
“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 ADC further urged INEC to investigate what it described as an attempt to undermine public confidence in the electoral process through the circulation of allegedly forged documents.
“We are 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 party stated.
Reaffirming its position, the ADC said the party remained united under the leadership recognised by INEC and had completed its nomination process in accordance with the Electoral Act and the commission’s guidelines.
It added that only its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and vice-presidential candidate, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, had been successfully uploaded to the INEC nomination 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 added.
The party urged its members, supporters and the public to disregard what it described as misinformation intended to distract the ADC ahead of the 2027 elections, insisting that its focus remains on presenting what it called a credible alternative for Nigeria.
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