The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of allegedly substituting the party’s authentic candidates with names it did not submit for the 2027 general elections, describing the development as an attempt to undermine the party and create confusion among its supporters.
The National Chairman of the NDC, Sen. Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, made the allegation in a press statement dated Sunday, August 30, 2026, following the publication by INEC of candidates for the State Houses of Assembly elections, particularly in Anambra State.
Zuwoghe said the party was particularly concerned about 10 names published as its candidates in Anambra State, which he claimed were neither nominated nor submitted by the NDC.
“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 (home state of our Presidential Candidate, His Excellency Peter Obi), where ten (10) names, unknown to the party; names not authored 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 stated.
According to the NDC chairman, the development amounted to a deliberate attempt to sabotage the party ahead of the 2027 elections and sow discord among its supporters.
Zuwoghe called on the INEC Chairman to immediately investigate the circumstances surrounding the publication and determine how the disputed names found their way onto the commission’s portal.
“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 identified the affected constituencies and names published by INEC as follows:
- Onitsha South 1 — Umennaajego Jude Ezenwa
- Onitsha South 2 — Akpote Obinna Chibuike
- Orumba North — Nwankwo Chiemerie
- Anaocha 1 — Maduagwu Eric K
- Idemili North — Ngoebisi Obinna
- Njikoka 1 — Isintume Charles
- Nnewi South 1 — Nwachukwu Nonso
- Nnewi South 2 — Okeke Ifeanyi Akunne
- Ayamelum — Nnonyelu Samson E.
- Dunukofia — Azotani Chuks Francis
Zuwoghe said the NDC had observed similar developments in other states, including Benue and Imo, and called for a wider investigation into what he described as a pattern of authentic party candidates being replaced with names not endorsed by the party.
“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 the millions of the party’s supporters all over the country and in the Diaspora,” he said.
The NDC chairman further alleged that the party was conducting its own investigation and that its preliminary findings pointed to possible complicity by some INEC officials.
“We, as a party, are also carrying out our own independent investigation, the preliminary findings of which are already pointing to the complicity of INEC officials in foisting names purporting to be our candidates, but who are not from us, and using the uploading process as a tool of blackmail and intimidation against the party, and getting those names to be uploaded and published, for whatever purpose or ulterior motive,” Zuwoghe alleged.
‘INEC Kept Our Candidates on Pending’
Explaining how the controversy arose, Zuwoghe said the NDC completed its primaries and appeal process before producing a final list of candidates with the participation of relevant stakeholders, including representatives of the party’s presidential candidate and its Appeals Panel.
“I, as Chairman of the Party and custodian of the code given to the NDC for the upload of our candidates, never uploaded those names, and I unequivocally state that the party did not also upload those nine names,” he said.
According to him, when the party’s final list was uploaded to the INEC portal using the access code supplied by the electoral commission, nine of the disputed names were allegedly left on “Pending” status.
“However, when that final list was uploaded to the INEC portal, using the code given to us by the Electoral Commission, the INEC officials who are in complete control of the backend of the portal kept nine of the names on ‘Pending’ status,” he stated.
He said INEC officials claimed the names were already in the commission’s system and had purportedly been submitted by officials who monitored the NDC primaries.
Zuwoghe said the party subsequently appealed the inclusion of the names and forwarded the names of its actual candidates, together with the necessary covering letter, but INEC allegedly maintained its position.
He also accused the commission of bypassing the party to obtain Form EC-9 directly from the disputed candidates before publishing their names.
“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. It then went ahead to publish the controversial names as authentic candidates of the party,” he alleged.
The NDC chairman described the development as unacceptable and contrary to the Electoral Act and INEC’s own guidelines.
He argued that if the commission was unwilling to resolve what it considered an anomaly, it could have left the affected positions without candidates rather than allegedly preloading names and preventing the party from uploading its authentic nominees.
“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,” Zuwoghe said.
He also accused INEC of creating a pattern in which political parties are allegedly prevented from uploading their genuine candidates while other names are inserted, a situation he said could fuel internal crisis and undermine confidence in the electoral process.
NDC Heads to Court
Zuwoghe said the NDC would not accept the disputed list and was prepared to seek judicial intervention to protect the party’s candidates.
“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,” he declared.
The NDC chairman vowed that the party would pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.
He said the party remained committed to ensuring that the disputed names were removed and its duly nominated candidates restored ahead of the 2027 elections.
