NDC Accuses INEC Of Replacing Its Candidates With ‘Strange Names’

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of deliberately replacing candidates nominated by the party for the 2027 general elections with names it said were unknown to its leadership.

The allegation followed the publication on Sunday of candidates for the State Houses of Assembly elections by INEC, with the NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, particularly raising concerns over the list for Anambra State, the home state of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Zuwoghe alleged that nine names published by the electoral commission as NDC candidates in different Anambra constituencies were neither nominated nor authorised by the party.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the NDC chairman described the development as a deliberate attempt to undermine the party ahead of the 2027 elections and create disaffection among its supporters.

“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, where nine names, unknown to the party; names not authorized by the party; names not sent by the party to INEC, in accordance with the law, have now been uploaded and published as candidates of the party,” he said.

The party listed the affected constituencies as Onitsha South 1, Onitsha South 2, Orumba North, Anaocha 1, Idemili North, Njikoka 1, Nnewi South, Nnewi South 2 and Ayamelum. It also included Dunukofia among the constituencies where it alleged that names not submitted by the party appeared on the INEC list.

The NDC chairman called on the INEC Chairman to immediately investigate the matter and determine how the names came to be uploaded and published as the party’s candidates.

He said the investigation should not be restricted to Anambra, alleging that similar incidents had been detected in other states, including Benue and Imo.

According to him, the development had embarrassed the party and its leadership while also generating anger among its supporters in Nigeria and the diaspora.

Zuwoghe said the NDC had commenced its own investigation, with preliminary findings allegedly pointing to the involvement of some INEC officials in the disputed process.

He alleged that the electoral commission’s candidate-uploading system was being used to frustrate the party and its candidates.

The chairman insisted that he did not upload the disputed names and that the NDC did not submit them to the commission.

He explained that following the party’s primaries and subsequent appeal process, stakeholders from Anambra, party leaders, representatives of Obi and the appeals panel agreed on a final list of candidates.

According to him, the approved list was signed by all relevant parties before being uploaded to the INEC portal with the access code provided by the commission.

Zuwoghe alleged that although the party successfully uploaded its list, INEC officials controlling the backend of the portal kept nine of the names on “Pending” status.

He said the commission subsequently claimed that the names were already in its system because they had allegedly been submitted by INEC officials who monitored the party’s primaries.

The NDC chairman said the party challenged the names, arguing that they did not emerge from its nomination process, and subsequently submitted the names of its actual candidates alongside the required covering letter.

He alleged that INEC nevertheless proceeded to recognise the disputed names.

Zuwoghe further accused the commission of bypassing the party by obtaining Form EC-9 directly from the individuals whose names were in dispute and uploading the documents to the portal.

“To further confirm that there was a predetermined effort on the part of INEC to impose the said nine candidates on the party, and embarrass both NDC and Mr. Peter Obi, INEC went behind the NDC to collect the Form EC-9 directly from the candidates, bypassing the party, and uploading same,” he alleged.

The NDC chairman argued that such action was contrary to the Electoral Act and INEC’s own guidelines.

He said where the commission had concerns about discrepancies between candidates submitted by a political party and information gathered by its monitoring teams, the appropriate action would have been to leave the affected positions blank pending resolution of the dispute.

“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.

Zuwoghe also alleged that the development reflected a wider pattern in which opposition parties were being prevented from uploading their legitimate candidates while individuals not selected through their nomination processes were allegedly being imposed on them.

He warned that such actions could deepen internal disputes within political parties and undermine confidence in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 elections.

The NDC chairman vowed that the party would pursue the matter until the disputed names were removed and its authentic candidates restored.

He said the party was preparing to approach a court of competent jurisdiction for redress.

Zuwoghe urged members of the public and NDC supporters not to recognise the disputed individuals as candidates of the party, insisting that the names published by INEC did not represent the candidates duly nominated by the NDC.

“We will pursue this matter to the very end and ensure that the right thing is done and this mischief is reversed,” he said.

The allegations place another dispute between an opposition party and the electoral commission in the spotlight ahead of the 2027 elections, with the NDC now seeking both administrative and judicial intervention to have the published list reviewed.