Access code: ADC kicks as INEC debunks Bala’s claim

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed as false, the claim by a factional leader of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Nafiu Bala, that he had obtained the commission’s access code and uploaded the party’s candidates for the 2027 general election.

The claim, which has been widely shared on social media, suggested that Bala’s faction had successfully completed the upload of candidates on INEC’s nomination portal.

However, when contacted INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mrs Victoria Eta-Messi, told Daily Trust that the claim is untrue, insisting that Bala is not recognised by the commission as the national chairman of the ADC.

“It is not true,” she said.

A further check by Daily Trust on INEC’s official political parties portal also contradicted Bala’s claim.

The commission’s portal lists Sen. David Mark as the National Chairman of the ADC and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the National Secretary, indicating that they remain the party officials recognised by INEC for the purpose of nominations and other statutory dealings.

Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress, ADC has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to investigate and prosecute Nafiu Bala Gombe for forgery and unauthorised use of documents.

The ADC was reacting to an announcement by Gombe that the ADC, under his leadership, has successfully completed the upload of the Presidential, Vice-Presidential, and National Assembly candidates on the INEC portal for the 2027 General Elections.

Gombe said this achievement demonstrates the ADC’s commitment to “safeguarding the interests of our founding and legacy members in the face of anti-democratic tendencies.”

The statement was posted on a platform, Nafiu Bala Gombe media team on Facebook.

However, efforts to get the reaction of Gombe to the authenticity of the statement was not successful as at the time of filing this report.

As he did not respond to persistent calls to his phone and was yet to react to the messages including a whatsapp message sent to him.

INEC should probe potential forgery by Nafiu Bala – ADC

Meanwhile, the leadership of the ADC under David Mark in their reaction called on INEC to investigate what it described as “the apparent forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly issued by the Commission,” urging the election body to investigate and take appropriate action.

ADC also dismissed the statement as false that a “group led by Nafiu Bala Gombe uploaded the names of a presidential candidate and other nominees to the INEC nomination portal.”

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, urged the public to disregard what it called attempts to create confusion and insisted it remains focused on offering Nigerians a credible alternative ahead of the 2027 general election, under the leadership of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

While insisting that the claim is “a blatant lie,” ADC said INEC does not issue nomination portal access or nomination codes to a leadership it does not recognise, adding the Commission will not issue two codes to the same party.

ADC further said they are formally drawing the attention of INEC to what appeared 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.

“Even as ridiculous as this claim appears, it is nothing more than another scheme to create doubts and confusion in the minds of unsuspecting members of the public.”

ADC explained that for the avoidance of doubt, the African Democratic Congress is not factionalised as INEC has issued nomination portal access only to the leadership it recognises, and that leadership has duly concluded the party’s nomination process in accordance with the Electoral Act and the Commission’s guidelines.

“As we informed the public last week, the details of our Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and our Vice-Presidential Candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, have been uploaded on the INEC portal.

“As the election approaches, there will be repeated attempts to distract the party and mislead the public. We will 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.” Abdullahi said.

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