Did INEC Replace Atiku Abubakar with Chris Uba as ADC’s 2027 Presidential Candidate? What We Know So Far

A viral claim that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has listed Professor Chris Uba as the African Democratic Congress (ADC)’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election is false.

Our team review all available reports and INEC’s published candidate list found no evidence that the commission had officially replaced Atiku Abubakar with Uba as of November 13, 2026.

The Claim

The assertion was pushed by Senior Pst Okezie Jam… (@Onsogbu) in a post on X, which claimed that INEC had listed Uba as the ADC’s flagbearer, with Dr Shamsuddin Modibbo Barkindo as his running mate.

The post states: “INEC Nigeria lists Prof. Chris Uba as presidential candidate of ADC and Dr. Shamsuddin Modibbo Barnkido as Vice Presidential candidate of the party.”

It went on to say that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi were no longer in the race for the party’s ticket, and urged Peter Obi to throw his support behind Uba. An image of a document was attached to the post as evidence of Uba’s candidacy.

Verdict: False.

What the Checks Found

A report published by The Guardian on July 1, 2026, established that the ADC faction led by Nafiu Bala Gombe had declared Uba its presidential candidate. That declaration by the faction did not establish that INEC had officially recognised him as the party’s candidate.

Further verification by Ejes Gist News Nigeria, published on November 13, 2026, found that INEC’s published candidate list still identified Atiku Abubakar as the ADC’s presidential candidate. The fact-check also reported that the commission had not recognised the Bala-led faction as the party’s official leadership.

The claim circulated amid a leadership dispute within the ADC. On November 5, 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the leadership of the faction led by former Senate President David Mark and set aside decisions taken under it, including the process that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.

The court ruling did not, by itself, establish that INEC had recognised Uba as Atiku’s replacement.

In a report published on November 6, 2026, ARISE News reported that the ADC had appealed the judgment and applied for a stay of execution, while urging INEC to exercise restraint pending the determination of its application.

As of November 7, reports quoting INEC National Commissioner and Information and Voter Education Committee Chairman Mohammed Kudu Haruna indicated that the commission had not received a certified true copy of the judgment and had not decided how to respond to it. At that point, the names of Atiku and Amaechi remained on the commission’s published list.

Verdict

The findings show that although Uba was announced as the candidate of the Bala-led faction, the claim that INEC had officially listed him as the ADC’s presidential candidate was not supported by the available evidence. The court ruling invalidating the Mark-led leadership’s processes does not automatically make Uba the recognised candidate. Until INEC confirms a change to its official records, the viral post should not be treated as evidence that Uba has been recognised as the ADC’s presidential candidate.