The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of allegedly replacing its duly nominated candidates for the 2027 general elections with names not authorised by the party.
The party’s National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, made the allegation while reacting to the list of candidates for the State Houses of Assembly elections published by INEC on Sunday.
Zuwoghe alleged that the commission’s action was particularly targeted at constituencies in Anambra State, the home state of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, describing the development as an attempt to undermine the party and create disaffection among its supporters.
In a statement, the NDC chairman said nine names published by INEC as the party’s candidates for various Anambra State House of Assembly constituencies were neither nominated nor submitted by the party.
“The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, totally condemns the action of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its officials over the uploading and publication of unauthorized names in various constituencies, principally in the Anambra State House of Assembly,” he said.
According to him, the affected names were “unknown to the party,” and were not authorised or submitted to INEC in accordance with the law.
The names listed by the party include Umennaajiego Jude Ezenwa for Onitsha South 1; Akpotue Obinna Chibuike for Onitsha South 2; Nwankwo Chiemerie for Orumba North; Maduagwu Eric K for Anaocha 1; Ngoebisi Obinna for Idemili North; Isintume Charles for Njikoka 1; and Nwachukwu Nonso for Nnewi South 1.
Others are Okeke Ifeanyi Akunne for Nnewi South 2; Nnonyelu Samson E. for Ayamelum; and Azotani Chuks Francis for Dunukofia.
Zuwoghe called on the INEC Chairman to immediately investigate the alleged discrepancies and determine how the names were uploaded and published.
He also demanded that the investigation be extended to other states, including Benue and Imo, where the party said similar discrepancies had been detected.
“The same investigation should also be carried out in other constituencies like Benue, Imo, and others, as this mischief has not only caused an embarrassment to the party, its leadership, and genuine candidates, but has also caused a lot of disaffection among millions of the party’s supporters all over the country and in the Diaspora,” he said.
The NDC chairman further alleged that preliminary findings from the party’s internal investigation indicated possible complicity by some INEC officials.
He claimed that the commission’s candidate-uploading portal was allegedly used to frustrate the party’s nomination process, describing the development as a form of “blackmail and intimidation.”
Zuwoghe explained that following the conclusion of the party’s primaries and appeals process, stakeholders from Anambra, the party leadership, representatives of Obi and members of the appeals panel agreed on a final list of candidates.
According to him, the list was signed off by the relevant stakeholders before it was uploaded to the INEC portal using a code provided by the commission.
He, however, alleged that nine entries were left on “Pending” status by INEC officials who reportedly claimed that their system contained different names submitted by officials who monitored the primaries.
Zuwoghe further alleged that INEC subsequently obtained Form EC-9 directly from the individuals whose names had not been approved by the party and proceeded to publish them as candidates.
He described the alleged process as contrary to the Electoral Act and INEC’s guidelines, insisting that where discrepancies existed between the party’s submission and field reports, the affected entries should have remained blank pending clarification.
The NDC chairman assured party supporters that the individuals whose names appeared on the disputed list did not represent the party’s approved candidates.
He said the party would commence immediate legal action to challenge the publication and seek the correction of what it described as irregularities in the candidate list.