The Atiku Media Office has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of unlawfully granting access to its candidate nomination portal to a rival faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), alleging that the move is aimed at weakening opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general election.

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

According to the statement, Nafiu Bala Gombe, whom the media office 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 argued that access to the portal is reserved for the duly recognised leadership of political parties in line with INEC’s guidelines governing candidate nominations for the 2027 general election.

It alleged that by granting an access code to Gombe, the electoral commission acted contrary to its own guidelines and demonstrated political bias.

“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.

The media office maintained that the leadership of the ADC headed by former Senate President David Mark remains the only legally recognised executive of the party and that any candidate list submitted by Gombe lacks legal validity.

It questioned how two individuals could simultaneously be recognised as national chairman of the same political party, insisting that only the David Mark-led leadership has the authority to submit candidates to INEC.

“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 further alleged that Gombe did not conduct valid party primaries in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, arguing that only candidates produced through the recognised ADC leadership can lawfully participate in the election.

It therefore described the alleged granting of portal access to Gombe as unconstitutional and unlawful.

“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,” the statement stated.

The media office called on INEC to publicly explain the circumstances under which Gombe allegedly obtained access to the candidate nomination portal and urged the commission to refrain from actions capable of fuelling internal crises within opposition political parties.

As of the time of filing this report, INEC had not responded to the allegations or issued any statement on the claims made by the Atiku Media Office. (Guardian)