IT’S UNLAWFUL FOR INEC TO GRANT PORTAL ACCESS TO GOMBE FACTION – ATIKU MEDIA OFFICE

July 13, 2026 • Dons Eze • 2 min read

The Atiku Media Office has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of unlawfully granting portal access to a rival faction of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, to upload candidates for the 2027 general election.

The media outfit alleged that the move is aimed at weakening opposition parties.

The allegation is contained in a statement issued by the Atiku Media Office in Abuja on Monday.

According to the statement, Nafiu Bala Gombe, who it described as a “pretender” to the ADC national chairmanship, announced on July 11 that he had successfully uploaded the names of his candidates to INEC’s candidate nomination portal.

The Atiku Media Office maintained that access to INEC’s candidate nomination portal is meant for the recognised leadership of political parties in line with the commission’s guidelines for the 2027 general election.

“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,” the statement said.

Stressing that only the leadership headed by former Senate President David Mark is recognised by law, it insisted that any candidate list submitted by Gombe is invalid.

“The so-called successful uploading of candidates by Nafiu Bala Gombe is neither grounded in law nor supported by INEC’s own guidelines. Nafiu Bala Gombe is not recognised as ADC Chairman. Mark is duly recognised. Can there be two recognised Chairmen of a political party? Possibly only in an INEC led by Amupitan,” the statement added.

The Atiku Media Office also alleged that Gombe did not conduct valid party primaries as required by the Constitution and the Electoral Act, maintaining that only candidates produced through the recognised ADC leadership can be accepted by law.

“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,” it stated.

The Atiku Media Office urged INEC to clarify the circumstances surrounding the portal access granted to Gombe and refrain from actions it claimed could create internal crises within opposition political parties.

Dons Eze

DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.