Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Nigerians shall next year go to the polls to elect their President. Three major opponents shall square off in arguably the most keenly contested Presidential election since Shehu Shagari contested against Obafemi Awolowo in 1979. Given the present scenario, the 2027 race will boil down to a tripartite battle between incumbent Bola Ahmed Tinubu of APC, Atiku Abubakar (ADC) and Peter Obi of NDC. The development with INEC finally uploading Abubakar's name to its portal as a candidate in the forthcoming election. INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna confirmed yesterday that the commission granted the Mark-led faction of the ADC access to its nomination portal following the Supreme Court judgment affirming its leadership. Haruna disclosed that the faction has already nominated candidates for 471 elective positions ahead of the 2027 general election. He said, “Yes, we gave the Mark-led faction the code based on the recent Supreme Court judgment that affirmed his leadership of the party and the faction has since submitted most of its candidates for a total of 471 – presidential (2), senatorial (109) and House of Representatives (360) constituencies. The court, however, did not say we should accept any submissions by the rival faction which, in any case, had lost its appeal for recognition.” The ADC has since called for the investigation and prosecution of factional leader, Nafiu Gombe, following INEC’s clarification that claims by Gombe that he had uploaded the party’s candidates for the 2027 general election through the commission’s nomination portal were false. The demand, made by Abdullahi, followed INEC’s clarification that it did not grant Gombe access codes to its restricted nomination portal and that only the Mark-led National Executive Committee is recognised by the electoral body. The ADC welcomed the commission’s position and accused Bala of attempting to mislead Nigerians, asserting that the issue is beyond political disagreements and has become an attempt to deceive the public.The statement read, “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) welcomes the prompt clarification by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which unequivocally confirmed that the document circulated by Mr Nafiu Bala purporting to show that he had obtained the commission’s access code and uploaded candidates on behalf of the ADC for the 2027 general election was forged, and that the claim itself was entirely false. The issue before us is no longer simply about the continuous false statements that have been issued by Nafiu Bala Gombe at the behest of his sponsors. It is about the clear and unmistakable attempt to mislead the Nigerian public.” The party argued that falsely claiming access to INEC’s restricted nomination portal was a serious allegation that should attract the attention of security agencies. The party consequently urged the electoral commission to ensure that everyone connected with the alleged false claim is investigated and prosecuted. “To publicly claim that one has gained access to INEC’s restricted nomination platform and exercised powers reserved for duly recognised party officials is a grave matter that deserves the immediate attention of law enforcement agencies," the party said. “As a responsible party, the ADC therefore calls on INEC to take all the necessary steps to ensure that Mr Gombe and anyone else involved in originating or promoting this falsehood are investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law,” the party stated. The Atiku Abubakar Media Office had, following Gombe's claims, accused INEC of granting the latter the access codes, an allegation the electoral body vehemently denied. Commenting on Monday’s Court of Appeal judgment on the ADC leadership dispute, Haruna said the commission would withhold its position until it obtained and studied the Certified True Copy of the judgment. “INEC cannot say anything until we see the judgment. We have to see the details of the judgment first. Hopefully, in the next two days, within 48 hours, the court should release the judgment. We will study it, only then will the commission take a position.” Monday’s Court of Appeal judgment had affirmed an earlier Federal High Court decision restraining INEC from recognising state congresses conducted by committees appointed by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership of the ADC. The appellate court’s decision reignited the party’s leadership dispute, although INEC maintained that its recognition of the Mark-led leadership and the nominations already submitted are based on the earlier Supreme Court judgment. The appellate court, in a split decision Monday affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which held that the dissolution of the party’s state executives by the Mark-led leadership violated the ADC constitution and consequently restrained INEC from recognizing the congresses conducted by the caretaker committees. The verdict upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, dismissing the appeal against the lower court. The suit was filed by seven aggrieved state chairmen of the ADC, who had challenged their dissolution and the setting up of a state committee to conduct state congresses of the ADC, insisting that the action of the Mark-led leadership robbed them of the statutory powers to conduct congresses. The court held that the Mark-led leadership was wrong to have dissolved the state’s leadership of the ADC and set up a caretaker committee for the conduct of the congresses, with Justice Abdulmalik holding that the powers to conduct congresses belonged to the state executive, whose tenure was still running, adding that a mediation report showed that the tenure of the state executive was in 2023 extended by four years. Not satisfied with the judgment, the ADC, Mark, National Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola and Abdullahi approached the appellate court to challenge the decision, claiming among others, that the trial court erred when it assumed jurisdiction over a matter that fell within the internal affairs of the ADC. They also claimed that while the respondents in the suit lacked merit to institute the legal action, the fact that they did not exhaust the internal mechanism of the ADC for resolving party issues robbed the court of jurisdiction to entertain the suit. The appellate court in a majority decision held that it found no reason to deviate from the judgment of the trial court. Given that the latest appellate decision relates specifically to the party's state congresses and not the nomination of candidates for elective offices, the ADC maintained that Monday’s Court of Appeal judgment did not affect the validity of its primaries or the emergence of its candidates. In a statement issued by Abdullahi, the ADC said the judgment concerned only the conduct of ward, local government and state congresses and had no bearing on the direct primaries through which its candidates emerged. Emerging from the foregoing and while one would not want to preempt the court's decision, it appears likely that Nigerians will next year face Tinubu, Abubakar and Obi as choices for the country's presidency. Whatever the outcome, the fact is that Nigerians have once again asserted their preference for democracy, specially doffing their hat to Atiku, Obi and all others who stood strongly in opposition to official manipulation to enforce one-party dominance in Nigeria. It is a befitting epitaph to the memory of MKO Abiola and other political martyrs.

Posted: 4weeks ago

Author: Editor in Chief

Current date: 14 August 2026