The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed it will recognise only candidates submitted by the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general elections.
INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, said the electoral body granted the Mark-led faction access to its candidate nomination portal after the Supreme Court affirmed its leadership.
According to Haruna, the faction has already submitted 471 candidates, comprising two presidential candidates, 109 senatorial candidates and 360 House of Representatives candidates, ahead of the 2027 polls.
He stressed that only the leadership recognised by the Supreme Court has the legal authority to nominate candidates, dismissing claims that the rival faction was granted access to INEC’s restricted nomination portal.
Following the clarification, the ADC called for the investigation and prosecution of its factional leader, Nafiu Bala Gombe, accusing him of falsely claiming to have accessed INEC’s nomination platform and uploaded candidates on behalf of the party.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party described the claim as false and misleading, insisting the matter had moved beyond an internal party dispute to a legal issue that should attract the attention of security agencies.
The ADC urged INEC and relevant authorities to investigate and prosecute anyone found responsible for spreading the alleged false information.
The controversy followed claims by the media office of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that Bala had been granted access to the nomination portal—an allegation INEC has firmly denied.
Meanwhile, Haruna said the commission would not immediately act on Monday’s Court of Appeal judgment concerning the ADC leadership dispute until it receives and reviews the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the ruling.
The Court of Appeal, in a split decision, upheld an earlier Federal High Court judgment restraining INEC from recognising state congresses conducted by committees appointed by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership.
The suit was filed by seven aggrieved ADC state chairmen who argued that their removal violated the party’s constitution. While both courts ruled that the dissolution of the state executives was unconstitutional, the judgments relate only to the conduct of state congresses and do not affect the nomination of candidates for the 2027 general election.
The ADC maintains that the ruling has no impact on the direct primaries that produced its candidates for the upcoming polls.
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