The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate the claim by Nafiu Bala Gombe that his group has uploaded the names of a presidential candidate and other nominees to the INEC nomination portal.
ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, wondered how Bala Gombe could claim to have access to the INEC’s portal since the commission does not issue two codes to the same political party.
“INEC does not issue nomination portal access or nomination codes to a leadership it does not recognise,” the party stated.
It challenged the claimant to provide evidence of the purported upload, arguing that the group is not known by law or INEC.
“We are also, by this statement, formally drawing the attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to what appears to be the forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly emanating from the commission in a manner capable of creating confusion and undermining public confidence in its integrity and reputation as Nigeria’s electoral umpire.
“We trust that the commission will investigate this matter and take the necessary steps to correct this blatant misrepresentation,” ADC said.
According to the statement, the plan of the group is to create doubts and cause confusion in the minds of unsuspecting members of the public.
ADC said it is not factionalised, disclosing that INEC has issued nomination portal access only to the leadership it recognises.
The party said it has already concluded its nomination process in accordance with the Electoral Act and INEC’s guidelines.
“As we informed the public last week, the details of our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (GCON), and our vice-presidential candidate, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi (CON), has been uploaded on the INEC portal. Those are the facts,” ADC stated.
The party alleged there would be attempts to mislead the public as the election approaches, but assured it would not be distracted.
“Our focus remains firmly on presenting Nigerians with a credible alternative that can restore security, tackle the rising cost of living, revive the economy, create jobs, and return the country to the path of progress in 2027,” ADC added, and called on its members, supporters, the media, and the general public “to ignore these agents of distraction and rely only on official communications issued by the African Democratic Congress through its authorised channels.”
