The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of replacing candidates it nominated for the 2027 State House of Assembly elections with names allegedly not authorised or submitted by the party.
The allegation was contained in a press statement dated August 30, 2026, signed by NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, following INEC’s publication of candidates for the state legislative elections. INEC lists Zuwoghe as the party’s national chairman.
The party said the alleged irregularity was particularly concerning in Anambra State, the home state of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
According to the NDC, 10 names published under its platform across various Anambra constituencies were neither authorised by the party nor produced through its nomination and appeal processes.
“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,”
Zuwoghe said the disputed names included candidates listed for Onitsha South 1 and 2, Orumba North, Anaocha 1, Idemili North, Njikoka 1, Nnewi South, Nnewi South 2, Ayamelum and Dunukofia.
The names identified by the party are Umennaajiego Jude Ezenwa, Akpotue Obinna Chibuike, Nwankwo Chiemerie, Maduagwu Eric K, Ngoebisi Obinna, Isintume Charles, Nwachukwu Nonso, Okeke Ifeanyi Akunne, Nnonyelu Samson E. and Azotani Chuks Francis.
The NDC maintained that its primaries and subsequent appeal process had been concluded before a final list was produced by stakeholders from Anambra, party officials, representatives of Obi and members of the appeals panel.
Zuwoghe alleged that after the party uploaded its final list to the INEC portal, nine of the disputed names were placed on “Pending” status, with INEC officials allegedly claiming that the names were already contained in the commission’s system based on submissions by its officials who monitored the party’s primaries.
The chairman said the NDC subsequently appealed the decision and supplied what it described as the authentic list of candidates, but alleged that INEC declined to replace the disputed names.
He further accused the commission of attempting to compel the party to collect Form EC-9 directly from the affected individuals rather than through the party.
“This not only runs against the grain of the Electoral Act and INEC’s own guidelines, it is simply unacceptable,” Zuwoghe said.
The NDC also alleged that similar discrepancies had been observed in other constituencies and states, specifically mentioning Benue and Imo, and called for a wider investigation.
“We call on the INEC Chairman to urgently and immediately cause an investigation into the matter and unravel how this came to be,” the NDC chairman said.
The party argued that INEC should not leave genuine candidates off its list simply because of discrepancies between names submitted by a political party and information allegedly received from its field monitoring teams.
“At the very worst, INEC could have left us with no candidates for those positions, if they knew they were unwilling to address any perceived anomaly.”
The NDC said it would pursue the matter “to the very end” and seek to have what it described as the wrongful substitution reversed.
