ATIKU Accuses INEC of Aiding, Abetting TINUBU Against Opposition Parties
The Media Office of former Vice President of Nigeria, ATIKU ABUBAKAR, has criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over claims by NAFIU BALA GOMBE over claims that he has been granted access code to upload rival candidates of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, on the commission’s online portal for the nomination of candidates.
NAFIU BALA GOMBE parades himself as National Chairman of the ADC, and the Atiku Media Office said he made the purported claim in a statement issued on Saturday, July 11, 2026.
Reacting to the development in a statement, the Atiku Media Office observed that INEC had remained silence over BALA GOMBE’s claim, which it said is a contradiction to the law and the 2027 election guidelines.
It noted that by granting access code to BALA GOMBE, INEC was again “manifesting its partisanship”, adding that the commission under the leadership of Prof JOASH AMUPITAN had acted in a similar manner 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 appellate court.”
The statement further noted that the so-called "successful" uploading of "candidates" by NAFIU BALA GOMBE is neither grounded in law or supported by INEC's own guidelines.
It explained that NAFIU BALA GOMBE was not recognised as ADC Chairman, insisting that Senator DAVID MARK is the duly recognized National Chairman of the party.
“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 recognized 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 fomenting crisis in the ADC and the other opposition parties and by so doing helping President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of total state capture.”