INEC Drops 2027 Election Bomb: Only Official Party Leadership Gets Portal Access!

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has issued a clear directive, stating that access codes for uploading candidates to its nomination portal are provided exclusively to political parties whose national leadership is officially recognized by law. This clarification comes in response to recent claims that have stirred controversy within Nigeria's political landscape.

A senior official from the Commission, in an interview with LEADERSHIP on Monday, firmly denied reports circulating that a faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), led by Mr. Nafiu Bala, had successfully submitted a list of candidates to the INEC portal. The official reiterated that INEC's operational protocol dictates engagement solely with party executives whose names are officially registered and reflected in its records. He stated, "I am just hearing that from you. But if you check the INEC official portal, you will see the names of the party officials legally recognised by law, and we are dealing with them based on our established criteria," thereby dismissing any notion of dealing with unrecognized entities.

The Commission further announced its intention to publish the names of all political parties that successfully submitted their candidates, along with their respective nominees, upon the conclusion of the nomination exercise, which is set to end on July 14. The initial allegations regarding the Nafiu Bala-led faction’s purported candidate uploads to the INEC nomination portal first gained traction on social media platforms over the previous weekend.

Concurrently, the mainstream African Democratic Congress (ADC) has also vehemently refuted these reports. In a statement released by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC unequivocally labeled the claims that the group led by Mr. Nafiu Bala Gombe had uploaded a presidential candidate and other nominees to the INEC portal as "a blatant lie," asserting that such reports could be easily verified as false.

Abdullahi elaborated on the electoral process, emphasizing that INEC does not issue nomination portal access or nomination codes to any leadership it does not formally recognize. He further highlighted the impracticality and illegality of the Commission issuing two distinct nomination codes to the same political party, explaining, "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," underscoring the critical importance of legitimate recognition.

The ADC has since challenged those making these unsubstantiated claims to present concrete evidence demonstrating that the alleged upload was indeed carried out by individuals not legally recognized by law or by INEC. Moreover, the party has formally urged the electoral commission to initiate a thorough investigation into what it describes as alleged forgery and the unauthorized use of documents purportedly issued by INEC. The African Democratic Congress voiced its apprehension that such actions have the potential to create widespread confusion and significantly erode public confidence in the integrity and credibility of Nigeria’s electoral umpire. The party concluded by expressing its steadfast confidence that the Commission will diligently investigate this serious matter and take all appropriate steps to address what it perceives as a deliberate misrepresentation of facts.