The Media Office of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of aiding and abetting President Bola Tinubu's agenda to disenfranchise the opposition party.

It recalled that on 11 July 2026, Nafiu Bala Gombe, who parades himself as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), issued a statement claiming he had successfully uploaded his candidates' names to INEC's portal.

The uploading of the names of candidates on INEC portal is part of the process of the 2027 General Elections made possible by the granting of access codes to political parties in line with the umpire's guidelines.

Atiku's camp questioned INEC's silence, wondering why it has not denied or confirmed "this obvious contradiction to the law and its own guidelines."

"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. This was the same thing that the Prof Joash Amupitan-led INEC did when it illegally removed the names of the duly recognised ADC exco following the judicial rascality of Justice Lifu in ignoring a superior ruling of an appelate court.

"The so-called 'successful' uploading of 'candidates' by Nafiu Bala Gombe is neither grounded in law or 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. Can INEC grant two access codes to a political party? Certainly not.

"What INEC has done is a recipe for crisis and confirms that Prof Joash Amupitan was appointed to enable the weakening of the opposition parties by creating crisis even where none exists.

"We wish to remind Prof Joash Amupitan's INEC that Section 222 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) provides that candidates of a political party must emerge through recognised party primaries supervised by INEC. Section 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022 (as amended) stipulates that political parties must conduct primaries and submit only one validly nominated candidate per elective office to INEC. Nafiu Bala Gombe and his criminal gang did not conduct any primaries.

"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.

"Prof Joash Amupitan should quit formenting crisis in the ADC and the other opposition parties and by so doing helping President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of total state capture," Atiku's camp said.