Former Vice President Claims Electoral Commission Granted Access to Rival ADC Faction, Says Move Could Trigger Crisis Ahead of 2027 Elections
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, of attempting to weaken opposition parties by allegedly interfering in the leadership dispute within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In a statement issued on Monday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku alleged that INEC’s actions, if confirmed, could fuel a fresh crisis in the ADC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The allegation follows a claim by Hon. Nafiu Bala Gombe, who identifies himself as the National Chairman of the ADC, that his faction had successfully uploaded the party’s presidential, vice-presidential and National Assembly candidates to the INEC portal.
Atiku argued that uploading candidates to the INEC portal requires an official access code issued by the electoral commission. He questioned why such access would allegedly be granted to Gombe’s faction despite his insistence that the Senator David Mark-led executive remains the recognised leadership of the party.
According to the statement, granting an access code to a rival faction would be inconsistent with INEC’s guidelines and could amount to partisanship.
Atiku further maintained that only candidates produced through party primaries conducted by the recognised leadership are valid under the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
He called on INEC to avoid actions capable of creating crises within opposition parties and accused the commission of aiding what he described as an agenda to weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
As of the time of filing this report, INEC had not responded publicly to the allegations or confirmed the claims regarding the issuance of access codes or the reported candidate uploads.
