Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has fired back at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over what it describes as the "smuggling" of 10 candidates into its list for the 2027 Anambra State House of Assembly elections, demanding an immediate electronic audit of the commission's nomination portal. The party, in a statement issued on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, by its Director of New Media and Strategic Communications, Agada Abuh Theophilus, insisted that the 10 names published by INEC did not originate from its nomination or appeal processes, and that it neither collected nor submitted their EC9E forms. The party consequently asked the commission to explain how the documents entered its system and called for an audit trail to determine when, how, and through which access point the disputed names were entered. The candidates listed by the party are: Onitsha South 1 – Umennaajiego Jude Ezenwa; Onitsha South 2 – Akpotue 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.; and Dunukofia – Azotani Chuks Francis.
The NDC maintained that the nomination process is clear: a political party submits the names and particulars of its approved candidates, after which INEC processes, approves and publishes them. It said it uploaded only the names of candidates who emerged from its appeal process, but alleged that INEC rejected those approved names. "It is the party's legal responsibility to submit the names and credentials of its nominated candidates," the statement said. "The NDC did not collect or forward completed EC9E forms for the 10 persons whose names later appeared on INEC's published list." The party then directly challenged the commission: "How did the Commission obtain their credentials when it is the party's legal duty to submit the names of its approved candidates?"
Recalling an earlier account by its National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas, the NDC said he was the custodian of the access code issued to the party for uploading candidates and did not upload the disputed names. According to that account, after primaries and the appeal process, Anambra stakeholders, working with party leadership, representatives of the presidential candidate and the appeals panel, produced a final list that was signed off by all. When that list was uploaded using the code given by INEC, officials who control the backend of the portal kept several of the party's names on "Pending" status, claiming the system already contained names submitted by field monitors of the primaries. The NDC said that even after it formally appealed those names and submitted its actual nominees with a covering letter, INEC refused to replace them. It alleged that the commission then collected Form EC9 directly from the disputed candidates, bypassing the party, and published the names as authentic NDC candidates.
However, INEC has firmly rejected the allegations. Speaking with TheCable on Monday, September 1, 2026, Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, said the responsibility for nominating candidates rests with political parties, subject to the constitution, the Electoral Act 2026, and other applicable laws. The commission also explained that the login details for its portal were sent exclusively to the party's chairperson for uploading the candidates' details. INEC also said it had in its possession an EC9E form containing the names of the 10 candidates in dispute and that the document was duly signed by the NDC's national chairman and national secretary. But the NDC disputed INEC's claim, challenging the commission to explain how it obtained the EC9E forms for the 10 candidates if, as the party insists, it did not submit them.
Senator Cleopas described the development as contrary to the Electoral Act and INEC's own guidelines. He said that if the names submitted by the party did not tally with those INEC claimed to have received from its monitoring teams, the commission should have left the slots vacant rather than preloading names and preventing the party from uploading its nominees. "At the very worst, INEC could have left us with no candidates for those positions if it was unwilling to engage us on any perceived anomaly," he said. The NDC chairman also alleged that the development reflected an emerging pattern in which INEC prevents political parties from uploading candidates they consider legitimate nominees while imposing other names on them. He vowed that the NDC would continue to pursue the matter until the disputed nominations were reversed, and called on INEC to conduct an electronic audit trail to determine how the 10 candidates were smuggled into its portal through the backend.
The dispute has raised fresh concerns about the integrity of the candidate nomination process ahead of the 2027 elections. As the NDC and INEC trade accusations over who is responsible for the disputed names, the party's demand for an electronic audit of INEC's nomination portal could set the stage for a major legal and political battle. The disagreement is expected to continue to play out in the coming days and weeks, as both sides dig in their heels.
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