Atiku Media Office Accuses INEC of Aiding Tinubu’s Alleged Plot to Disenfranchise ADC, Opposition Parties
The Atiku Media Office has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of aiding what it described as President Bola Tinubu’s alleged agenda to weaken and disenfranchise the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, the media office alleged that INEC unlawfully granted access to its candidate nomination portal to Nafiu Bala Gombe, whom it described as a “pretender” to the ADC national chairmanship, despite recognising the Senator David Mark-led National Executive Committee.
According to the statement, the commission’s action contradicted both the law and its own guidelines governing the nomination of candidates for elections.
The Atiku Media Office claimed that the upload of candidates by Bala Gombe was “neither grounded in law nor supported by INEC’s own guidelines,” insisting that only the David Mark-led leadership is legally recognised to nominate candidates on behalf of the party.
It further alleged that INEC’s action was a deliberate attempt to create internal crises within opposition parties, accusing the commission under its chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, of acting in a partisan manner.
The statement also cited Sections 222 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended), arguing that only candidates who emerge through recognised party primaries supervised by INEC can be validly nominated.
“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 said.
The media office further alleged that Bala Gombe and his associates did not conduct any valid party primaries and therefore lacked the legal authority to submit candidates to the electoral commission.
It called on the INEC chairman to desist from actions it claimed were capable of fuelling crises within the ADC and other opposition parties.
“Prof. Joash Amupitan should quit fomenting crisis in the ADC and the other opposition parties and by so doing helping President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of total state capture,” the statement added.
