BREAKING: Confusion As NDC Accuses INEC of Replacing Its 2027 Candidates With ‘Strange Names’

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

The allegation followed INEC’s publication of the list of candidates for the 2027 State Houses of Assembly elections.

In a statement signed by the NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, the party described the development as a deliberate attempt to undermine its preparations for the elections.

Zuwoghe warned that the alleged substitution could create confusion among party members and supporters, particularly as the country moves closer to the 2027 general elections.

The NDC chairman specifically raised concerns over the list published for Anambra State, alleging that 10 candidates listed by INEC were neither nominated nor authorised by the party.

The affected constituencies, according to the party, are Onitsha South 1, Onitsha South 2, Orumba North, Anaocha 1, Idemili North, Njikoka 1, Nnewi South, Nnewi South 2, Ayamelum and Dunukofia.

Zuwoghe said the NDC had conducted its primaries and completed its appeal process before arriving at a final list of candidates.

He said the list was endorsed by relevant stakeholders, the party leadership, representatives of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as well as the appeals panel.

According to him, the party subsequently uploaded the final list to the INEC portal using the code provided to it.

However, he alleged that nine of the party’s candidates were left in “Pending” status by INEC officials.

Zuwoghe claimed that the commission told the party that the names already appearing in its system were based on information submitted by officials who monitored the NDC primaries.

The NDC chairman said the party challenged the disputed names and submitted the identities of its actual candidates, but alleged that INEC failed to make the requested corrections.

He further alleged that the commission later collected Form EC-9 directly from the disputed candidates and uploaded the documents without the involvement or authorisation of the party.

“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 discrepancy between the list submitted by a political party and information allegedly obtained by INEC monitoring teams, the commission should have left the affected positions blank instead of publishing candidates who were not recognised by the party.

The NDC also alleged that similar incidents had occurred in other states, including Benue and Imo.

The party described the alleged incidents as part of what it called a wider pattern of opposition parties being prevented from fielding candidates of their choice.

“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,” the statement said.

The NDC called on the INEC Chairman to urgently investigate the allegations and establish how the disputed names were included in the commission’s published list.

Zuwoghe said the party was prepared to pursue the matter through legal channels, including approaching a court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress and have its authentic candidates restored.

He urged members of the public and NDC supporters to disregard the disputed names, insisting that they were not candidates nominated by the party for the 2027 elections.

The NDC chairman vowed that the party would pursue the matter “to the very end” until the alleged irregularity was reversed and the disputed candidates removed.