The Independent National Electoral Commission has rejected allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress that it removed candidates nominated by the party for the 2027 general elections and replaced them with names allegedly unknown to the party, particularly in some State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra State.
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INEC said it has no legal authority to nominate candidates for political parties and disclosed that the electronic records and audit trail of its candidate nomination portal would be examined to establish how the disputed names were uploaded.
The controversy followed an allegation by the NDC that unauthorised names had appeared on the list of its candidates published by INEC for some constituencies in Anambra State.
The party claimed that the names were neither authorised nor submitted by its leadership and accused officials of the electoral commission of interfering with its candidate nomination process.
NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, described the development as especially disturbing because Anambra State is the home state of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Responding to the allegations, the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, said the responsibility for nominating candidates rested exclusively with political parties, subject to compliance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and applicable regulations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, INEC does not nominate candidates for political parties. The nomination of candidates is the responsibility of political parties, subject to compliance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and other applicable laws, Regulations and Guidelines,” Oketola said.
He explained that political parties submit candidates through INEC’s candidate nomination portal using access credentials issued to them for that purpose.
According to him, activities carried out on the portal are electronically recorded, making it possible for the commission to establish the history and source of entries relating to any candidate whose name appears on the platform.
“It is therefore possible to establish objectively the history and source of entries relating to any candidate whose name appears on the portal,” he said.
Oketola said the allegation that INEC officials “smuggled” candidates into the NDC list should therefore be determined from verifiable electronic and documentary evidence rather than speculation.
He also clarified that INEC’s statutory responsibility to monitor political party primaries does not empower the commission to select or nominate candidates for a party.
“Neither does a report made by officials who monitor a primary confer upon the Commission the power to choose a candidate for the political party,” he said.
The INEC spokesman said disagreements over who validly emerged from a political party primary, the outcome of internal appeals or attempts to subsequently alter a primary result must be resolved in accordance with the Electoral Act 2026 and other applicable laws.
“INEC cannot assume the role of a political party in choosing its candidates, nor can it disregard applicable statutory requirements governing the nomination and submission of candidates,” he stated.
One of the most serious allegations made by the NDC was that INEC officials allegedly bypassed the party and obtained Form EC9 directly from certain aspirants before uploading their particulars as candidates.
Oketola acknowledged the seriousness of the allegation but said it was capable of objective verification through the commission’s electronic and documentary records.
“Rather than make categorical assertions on matters that can readily be established from those records, the Commission will examine the relevant records relating to the constituencies identified by the NDC,” he said.
INEC also asked the NDC to provide evidence and details identifying any officials allegedly involved in unauthorised interference with the party’s nomination process.
Oketola said any credible allegation of misconduct involving an INEC official would be investigated under established procedures.
He maintained that the commission had no institutional interest in determining which candidates any political party fields for election.
“Its responsibility is to administer the electoral process impartially and in accordance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act and applicable Regulations and Guidelines,” he said.
INEC further reminded political parties that they have a responsibility to ensure their primaries, internal appeals, candidate submissions and use of the nomination portal comply with the law and prescribed timelines.
Oketola assured political parties and other stakeholders that legitimate complaints would be examined on the basis of the commission’s records and applicable law.
“The commission will neither nominate candidates for political parties nor lend itself to the imposition of candidates on any political party,” he said.
The NDC had earlier accused INEC of systematically removing candidates nominated by the party for the 2027 elections and replacing them with individuals it did not recognise.
The party described the alleged development as “a deliberate plot to sabotage the NDC ahead of the general elections and cause dissatisfaction among its millions of supporters.”
Among the disputed names identified by the NDC in Anambra were 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, Nwachukwu Nonso for Nnewi South, Okeke Ifeanyi Akunne for Nnewi South 2, Nnonyelu Samson E. for Ayamelum and Azotani Chuks Francis for Dunukofia.
Although the party’s statement referred at different points to nine disputed names, the list reproduced in the material contains 10 names.
Zuwoghe called on the INEC Chairman to urgently investigate how the names came to be published as NDC candidates.
“We call on the INEC Chairman to urgently and immediately cause an investigation into the matter and unravel how this came to be,” he said.
The party asked INEC to extend the investigation beyond Anambra to constituencies in Benue, Imo and other states where it claimed to have observed a similar pattern.
According to the NDC, the controversy had caused embarrassment to the party, its leadership and candidates and generated disaffection among its supporters in Nigeria and abroad.
Giving further details of its complaint, Zuwoghe said that after the party’s primaries and appeal process, stakeholders in Anambra, party leaders, representatives of Peter Obi and the appeals panel arrived at what he described as a final list of candidates.
He alleged that when the list was uploaded to the INEC portal, officials kept some names under “Pending” status on the ground that the commission’s system already contained names submitted by officials who monitored the NDC primaries.
The NDC chairman alleged that the party subsequently appealed against those names and forwarded the candidates it considered properly nominated, but the disagreement remained unresolved.
He further alleged that INEC officials later collected Form EC9 directly from the disputed candidates, bypassing the party, before publishing them as authentic NDC candidates.
“This not only runs against the grain of the Electoral Act and INEC’s own guidelines, it is simply unacceptable,” Zuwoghe said.
He argued that where there was a conflict between names submitted by the political party and those contained in reports by INEC officials who monitored the primaries, the commission should have left the affected positions vacant rather than publish candidates rejected by the party.
“At the very worst, INEC could have left us with no candidates for those positions, if they knew they were unwilling to engage us in addressing any perceived anomaly,” he said.
The NDC chairman accused the commission of interfering with opposition party nominations and said the party would pursue the dispute until it was resolved.
He also disclosed that the NDC intended to approach a court of competent jurisdiction seeking the restoration of the candidates it considers validly nominated.
“Even as we move to approach the court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress and restore our authentic candidates, the general public and our millions of supporters should note that these are not our candidates,” Zuwoghe stated.
INEC has, however, rejected the accusation that it selected candidates for the NDC and says its records will be examined to determine exactly how each disputed entry reached the nomination portal.
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