The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in the 2027 general elections, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, berates the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for "aiding, abetting Tinubu’s agenda to disenfranchise ADC, other opposition parties."

Atiku Media Office, Abuja, in a statement, narrated that on 11 July 2026, Nafiu Bala Gombe, who parades himself as National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, issued a statement that he has succeeded in uploading the names of his candidates on the portal of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The Atiku Media Office pointed out that 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 Atiku Media protested that meanwhile, INEC has been mum, and has not denied or confirmed the obvious contradiction to the law and its own guidelines.

The Media Office argued: "By granting access code to Bala Gombe, a pretender, laying claims 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 exco, the electoral umpire is once again manifesting its partisanship.

"This was the same thing that the Prof Joash Amupitan-led INEC did when it 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."

The Atiku Media declared that the so-called "successful" uploading of "candidates" by Nafiu Bala Gombe is neither grounded in law or supported by INEC's own guidelines.

The Office maintained that Nafiu Bala Gombe is not recognised as ADC Chairman. The Media team insisted that Mark is duly recognized.

"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 Atiku Media Office declared.

They were of the view that 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.

"We wish to remind Prof Joash Amupitan's INEC that Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) provides that candidates of a political party must emerge through recognized party primaries supervised by INEC. Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended) stipulates that political parties must conduct primaries and submit only one validly nominated candidate per elective office to INEC. Nafiu Bala Gombe and his criminal gang did not conduct any primaries.

"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.

"Prof Joash Amupitan should 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," the Atiku Media Office asserted.