The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied reports claiming that it has replaced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general elections.
The denial follows a judgment delivered on Thursday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which nullified the Senator David Mark-led national leadership of the ADC and consequently affected the nominations of candidates presented by the party for next year’s elections, including Atiku’s presidential nomination.
Following the judgment, reports circulated that INEC had listed Chief Ifeanyi Ubah, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
However, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, dismissed the report.
Speaking in a telephone interview, Haruna said the commission had not received the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the court judgment and had therefore not taken any action based on the ruling.
“I wonder where the report was coming from. We have not yet seen the CTC of the judgment. We have not acted on the judgment,” Haruna said.
He added that the commission would issue a disclaimer concerning the report and urged members of the public to disregard what he described as fake news.
The INEC commissioner further clarified that Justice Lifu did not name anyone as the ADC’s presidential candidate in the judgment.
The development comes amid uncertainty over the ADC’s leadership and the status of its candidates following the Federal High Court ruling.