Atiku’s Allegations Baseless, Gombe Never Accessed Portal — INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed allegations by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that it granted a rival faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), led by Nafiu Gombe, access to its candidate nomination portal.

A senior INEC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the commission recognises only the David Mark-led National Executive Committee of the ADC and never issued access codes to Gombe or his associates.

The clarification followed claims by Atiku’s Media Office that INEC aided efforts to weaken the opposition by allegedly granting Gombe’s faction access to the portal despite recognising the Mark-led leadership. The former vice president’s camp also accused INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, of partisanship and attempting to advance President Bola Tinubu’s political interests ahead of the 2027 general election.

Responding to the allegations, the commission insisted it operates strictly in line with the Constitution, the Electoral Act and its regulations.

“INEC did not give access codes to Nafiu Gombe as claimed. According to our records, the recognised leadership of the ADC is that of Senator David Mark as National Chairman and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as National Secretary,” the official said.

The official maintained that Gombe lacked the legal standing to submit candidates through the commission’s portal because he is not recognised as the party’s chairman.

“It is as good as saying that Nafiu Gombe cannot upload the names of candidates because he is not the officially recognised chairman of the ADC. He and his associates did not receive any access codes from INEC,” the official added.

INEC also rejected allegations linking its chairman to the internal leadership dispute within the ADC, describing the claims as baseless.

According to the commission, the crisis is an internal party matter, urging political actors to resolve their differences rather than drag the electoral body into partisan disputes.

The controversy followed claims by Gombe’s faction that it had uploaded the names of ADC candidates to the commission’s portal.

However, the David Mark-led leadership also denied the claim and urged INEC to investigate the alleged forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly issued by the commission.