The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate what it describes as the alleged forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly issued by the commission following claims by a rival faction that it uploaded the party’s candidates to INEC’s nomination portal.
The appeal comes after the Nafiu Bala Gombe-led faction announced on Sunday that it had successfully submitted the names of its presidential and other candidates through the INEC portal, displaying images purportedly showing the completed process.
However, the David Mark-led faction dismissed the claim as false, insisting that only the leadership recognised by INEC has access to the commission’s nomination portal and has lawfully completed the nomination process.
In a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC argued that INEC could not grant portal access or nomination codes to a leadership it does not officially recognise.
“INEC does not issue nomination portal access or nomination codes to a leadership it does not recognise. Secondly, the commission will not issue two codes to the same party.”
The party challenged the rival faction to provide evidence that it had legitimately accessed the nomination portal and completed any upload.
The ADC also urged INEC to investigate what it described as the apparent forgery and unauthorised use of documents bearing the commission’s identity, warning that such actions could undermine public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.
Reaffirming its position, the David Mark-led faction maintained that INEC recognises only one leadership of the party and that it has already uploaded the details of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, through the official portal.
The party dismissed reports of a leadership crisis, accusing unnamed individuals of attempting to distract it ahead of the 2027 general election while insisting it remains focused on its campaign.
The dispute comes as political parties race to meet INEC’s candidate nomination deadlines. Following pressure from stakeholders, the electoral commission extended the deadline for uploading presidential and National Assembly candidates from July 11 to Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
