Former vice president Atiku Abubakar has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of aiding President Bola Tinubu’s administration in an alleged attempt to weaken the opposition and disenfranchise political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja via his media office, the presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress alleged that INEC unlawfully granted access to its candidate nomination portal to Nafiu Bala Gombe, whom it described as a “pretender” to the national chairmanship of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), despite recognising the Senator David Mark-led National Executive Committee.

The allegation followed Gombe’s announcement on July 11 that he had successfully uploaded the names of the ADC’s candidates to the electoral body’s portal as part of preparations for the 2027 elections.

According to the Atiku Media Office, the upload process is only possible after political parties are issued access codes by INEC in line with its guidelines, raising questions over how Gombe obtained access.

The statement claimed the electoral commission had failed to clarify the situation despite what it described as a contradiction of both the law and its own regulations.

It argued that by allegedly granting portal access to Gombe while recognising the David Mark-led leadership of the ADC, INEC had demonstrated partisanship and was deliberately creating confusion within the opposition.

The media office further accused the electoral umpire, under the leadership of Professor Joash Amupitan, of pursuing a pattern of actions aimed at destabilising opposition parties.

It also referenced an earlier dispute over the ADC’s leadership, alleging that INEC had previously removed the names of the party’s recognised executives following what it described as a controversial court ruling.

According to the statement, the purported submission of candidates by Gombe “is neither grounded in law nor supported by INEC’s own guidelines,” insisting that only one recognised national chairman can validly act on behalf of a political party.

The Atiku Media Office maintained that Gombe did not conduct valid party primaries and therefore lacked the legal basis to submit candidates for the 2027 elections.

Citing Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended), the statement argued that candidates must emerge through recognised party primaries supervised by INEC and that only one validly nominated candidate per elective office can be submitted by a political party.

It insisted that the only candidates recognised by law were those submitted under the leadership of Senator David Mark, describing any parallel submission as “null and void.”

The media office called on Professor Amupitan to stop what it described as efforts to foment crisis within the ADC and other opposition parties, alleging that such actions were designed to advance President Tinubu’s agenda of “total state capture.”