Atiku-Amaechi ticket war: ADC petitions INEC over alleged forgery

The David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission over the alleged forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly issued by the commission.

The petition followed a claim by the Nafiu Bala Gombe-led faction that it had uploaded the names of its presidential candidate and other nominees to INEC’s nomination portal.

The rival faction announced on Sunday night that it had completed the exercise and displayed images bearing INEC’s name, symbol and logo.

However, the Mark-led ADC dismissed the claim as false, arguing that only the leadership recognised by INEC could access the nomination portal.

In a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party alleged that the claim was intended to create confusion and mislead the public.

“INEC does not issue nomination portal access or nomination codes to a leadership it does not recognise,” the ADC said.

“Secondly, the commission will not issue two codes to the same party. Otherwise, every impostor would simply upload names to the portal and proclaim themselves the authentic leadership of a political party.”

The party challenged the Bala Gombe-led group to provide evidence that it had successfully accessed the portal and uploaded its candidates’ names.

“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 Mark-led faction urged INEC to investigate what it described as the apparent forgery and unauthorised use of documents purportedly originating from the commission.

It warned that the alleged conduct could create confusion and undermine public confidence in INEC.

“We trust that the commission will investigate this matter and take the necessary steps to correct this blatant misrepresentation,” the party said.

The ADC maintained that it had only one leadership recognised by INEC and denied that the party was divided.

It said the recognised leadership had used the nomination portal to upload the details of its presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and his running mate, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

The party accused unnamed individuals of attempting to distract it ahead of the 2027 general election.

It urged its members, supporters, the media and the public to disregard information not issued through its authorised channels.

INEC initially set Saturday, July 11, 2026, as the deadline for political parties to upload the details of their presidential and National Assembly candidates.

The commission subsequently extended the deadline to Tuesday, July 14.