INEC Counters NDC, Says Chairman Signed Candidate List

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) that it removed the party’s duly nominated candidates and replaced them with unknown names ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The commission said the candidate list in its possession was submitted by the party and duly signed by its National Chairman and National Secretary, insisting that it had no legal authority to nominate, substitute or impose candidates on political parties.

INEC’s position followed allegations by the NDC that some of its candidates for State House of Assembly seats, particularly in Anambra State, were replaced with names the party neither nominated nor authorised.

The NDC had accused INEC officials of uploading and publishing what it described as “unauthorised names” after the commission released the list of candidates for the 2027 elections.

The party’s National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, alleged that 10 names had appeared as NDC candidates for various constituencies in the Anambra State House of Assembly despite not emerging from the party’s nomination process. The party also raised concerns about similar developments in Benue and Imo states.

Zuwoghe described the development as unacceptable and threatened legal action to recover what the party called its authentic candidates.

But in a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by the Chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, the commission rejected the allegation, saying it was not responsible for choosing candidates for political parties.

Haruna explained that candidate nomination remained the exclusive responsibility of political parties, while INEC’s role in party primaries was limited to statutory monitoring.

“Candidate nomination is, by law, the exclusive responsibility of political parties. INEC has no legal authority to select, insert, or substitute a candidate for any party,” he said.

According to him, monitoring a party primary did not confer on the commission the power to choose or impose candidates on the party.

He said that, ahead of the 2027 election, all 22 registered political parties had designated two technically trained officers to manage their candidate nomination processes following training organised by INEC.

The commission subsequently issued portal access codes directly to the national chairmen of the parties, rather than through proxies, Haruna said.

He added that the candidate lists were generated from submissions made by the political parties through Form EC9 series (A-G), with the submissions jointly signed by the national chairmen and national secretaries.

Haruna said the commission had documentary evidence to support its position, particularly Form EC9E, which contained the names of the disputed candidates.

“As a matter of fact, the Commission has in its possession, Form EC9E where these candidates were listed and submitted to the Commission duly signed by the National Chairman and the National Secretary of the party,” he said.

The latest clarification comes after INEC had earlier said that its electronic records and audit trail could be used to establish how the disputed names appeared on the NDC’s candidate list. The commission also stressed that parties, rather than INEC, were responsible for nominating and submitting their candidates through the designated portal.

The NDC’s complaint had centred particularly on Anambra, the home state of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi. The party alleged that names unfamiliar to its leadership were published as its candidates in several constituencies, prompting demands for an investigation.

INEC, however, maintained that any dispute over the names could be resolved by examining the documents and records generated during the nomination process.

The commission reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and accountability, saying it would continue to provide a level playing field for all political parties and other stakeholders in the electoral process.