The African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the media office of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar have offered conflicting accounts over whether the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) granted nomination portal access to a group led by Nafiu Gombe.
Gatekeepers News reports that the dispute followed claims by Gombe’s group that it had uploaded the names of a presidential candidate and other party nominees to INEC’s nomination portal.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Atiku media office alleged that INEC provided Gombe’s group with a nomination portal access code despite recognising the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC.
According to the media office, Gombe’s claim that it successfully uploaded candidates’ names could only have been possible if the electoral commission had issued the group an access code. It accused INEC of acting with bias.
However, the ADC leadership dismissed the allegation, insisting that the claim was false.
In a separate statement on Monday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said INEC grants nomination portal access only to the leadership it officially recognises and does not issue multiple access codes to 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 read.
Abdullahi maintained that INEC could not have issued nomination portal access to Gombe’s group.
“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,” he said.
“Otherwise, every impostor would simply upload names to the portal and proclaim themselves the authentic leadership of a political party. That is plainly not how the law or the Commission’s processes work.”
ADC Calls for INEC Investigation
The party also urged INEC to investigate what it described as the alleged forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly issued by the commission.
“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,” Abdullahi said.
“We trust that the Commission will investigate this matter and take the necessary steps to correct this blatant misrepresentation.”
Reaffirming its position, the ADC said the party was not divided into factions and that the leadership recognised by INEC had already concluded its nomination process in line with the Electoral Act and the commission’s guidelines.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the African Democratic Congress is not factionalised. INEC has issued nomination portal access only to the leadership it recognises, and that leadership has duly concluded the party’s nomination process in accordance with the Electoral Act and the Commission’s guidelines,” Abdullahi added.
“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 party urged its members, supporters and the general public to disregard what it described as false reports and rely only on information released through its authorised communication channels.
