The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that it will only recognise candidates submitted by the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general election.
INEC National Commissioner, Mohammed Haruna, disclosed that 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 candidates for 471 elective positions, including the presidential election, Senate and House of Representatives seats.
He explained that the commission recognised the submissions because they were made by the leadership upheld by the Supreme Court, stressing that the rival faction had no legal authority to nominate candidates.
Haruna said the Mark-led ADC submitted candidates for two presidential positions, 109 senatorial seats and 360 House of Representatives constituencies.
He also dismissed claims that the rival faction had been granted access to INEC's nomination portal.
Following INEC's clarification, the ADC called for the investigation and prosecution of its factional leader, Nafiu Bala Gombe, accusing him of falsely claiming that he had accessed the commission's restricted nomination platform and uploaded candidates for the party.
In a statement issued by the party's National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC described the claim as false and misleading, saying it had now become a legal matter rather than an internal party dispute.
The party argued that falsely claiming access to INEC's restricted portal was a serious offence that should attract the attention of security agencies.
It urged the electoral commission to ensure that everyone involved in spreading the alleged false information is investigated and prosecuted according to the law.
The controversy followed allegations from the media office of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, which claimed that INEC had granted Bala access to the nomination portal. The commission later denied the claim.
Meanwhile, Haruna said INEC would not immediately react to Monday's Court of Appeal judgment involving the ADC leadership dispute until it receives and studies the Certified True Copy of the ruling.
He explained that the commission would examine the judgment before taking an official position.
The Court of Appeal, in a split decision, upheld an earlier Federal High Court judgment that restrained INEC from recognising state congresses conducted by committees appointed by the David Mark-led caretaker leadership.
The case was filed by seven aggrieved ADC state chairmen, who challenged their removal and argued that the party leadership violated the ADC constitution by dissolving their executives before the expiration of their tenure.
Both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal agreed that the dissolution of the state executives breached the party's constitution and that the power to conduct congresses belonged to the elected state leadership.
However, the latest Court of Appeal judgment focuses only on the conduct of the party's state congresses and does not affect the nomination of candidates for elective offices.
The ADC insisted that the ruling has no impact on the direct primaries through which its candidates for the 2027 elections emerged.
