ADC dismisses ‘fake’ INEC portal upload claim, seeks probe into alleged forgery

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has dismissed as false and misleading claims that a group led by Nafiu Bala Gombe uploaded the names of a presidential candidate and other nominees onto the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination portal, describing the allegation as a deliberate attempt to sow confusion ahead of the 2027 general election.

The party in a statement on Monday by Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, its National Publicity Secretary, challenged those behind the claim to produce credible evidence, insisting that only the leadership recognised by INEC has access to the Commission’s nomination portal.

The party also formally petitioned INEC to investigate what it described as the alleged forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly issued by the electoral body, warning that such actions could undermine public confidence in Nigeria’s electoral process.

According to the ADC, INEC does not grant nomination portal access or nomination codes to individuals or factions 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 nomination codes to the same political party.

“Otherwise, every impostor would simply upload names to the portal and proclaim themselves the authentic leadership of a political party. That is plainly not how the law or the Commission’s processes work,” the statement said.

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The opposition party questioned the basis of the alleged upload, asking where the evidence was that individuals not recognised by law or by INEC had successfully accessed the Commission’s nomination portal.

“The question, therefore, is straightforward: where is the evidence of this purported upload by a group of individuals not known by law or the electoral body?” it asked.

The ADC said it had officially drawn INEC’s attention to what it called the apparent forgery and unauthorised circulation of documents falsely presented as emanating from the Commission.

“We are 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,” the party stated.

The party maintained that there is no leadership crisis within its ranks, stressing that it is not factionalised and that only the recognised leadership has completed the nomination process in line with the Electoral Act and INEC’s guidelines.

It reiterated that the names of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, had already been successfully uploaded to the INEC portal.

“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), have been uploaded on the INEC portal. Those are the facts,” the statement added.

The ADC accused unnamed individuals of attempting to distract the party and mislead Nigerians as preparations for the 2027 elections intensify but insisted it would remain focused on its campaign.

“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,” the party said.

It urged members, supporters, the media and the general public to disregard what it described as “agents of distraction” and rely solely on official communications issued through the party’s authorised channels.