NDC disowns 10 Anambra Assembly candidates published by INEC

The Nigeria Democratic Congress has disowned 10 candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 Anambra State House of Assembly elections, saying the affected persons were neither nominated by the party nor submitted to INEC.

 

The party also demanded an immediate electronic audit of INEC’s nomination portal to establish how the names and credentials of the candidates allegedly appeared on the commission’s system.

 

The NDC Director of New Media and Strategic Communications, Theophilus Agada, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday.

 

Agada said the 10 candidates did not emerge from the party’s nomination or appeal processes.

 

He said, “The 10 names published by INEC neither emerged from the party’s nomination process nor its appeal process.

 

“The NDC uploaded only candidates who emerged from our appeal process, but the commission rejected the names approved by the party and subsequently published persons unknown to us.”

 

The candidates disowned by the party are Umennaajiego Ezenwa for Onitsha South I; Akpotue Chibuike, Onitsha South II; Nwankwo Chiemerie, Orumba North; Maduagwu Eric K., Anaocha I; Ngoebisi Obinna, Idemili North; and Isintume Charles, Njikoka I.

 

Others are Nwachukwu Nonso, Nnewi South I; Okeke Akunne, Nnewi South II; Nnonyelu Samson E., Ayamelum; and Azotani Francis, Dunukofia.

 

The NDC maintained that political parties were legally responsible for submitting the names and particulars of their nominated candidates to INEC for processing and publication.

 

“It is the party’s legal responsibility to submit the names and credentials of its nominated candidates,” Agada said.

 

“The NDC did not collect or forward completed EC9E forms for the 10 persons whose names later appeared on INEC’s published list.”

 

He therefore questioned how the commission obtained the credentials of the affected individuals.

 

“How did the commission obtain their credentials when it is the party’s legal duty to submit the names of its approved candidates?” he asked.

 

The development comes days after the NDC threatened legal action against INEC over alleged replacement of its candidates for the 2027 state Houses of Assembly elections with what it described as “strange names” unknown to the party.

 

The party had specifically accused the commission of publishing unauthorised names in several constituencies, particularly in Anambra State, alleging that the development could create confusion and internal disaffection within opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections.

 

The NDC National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, raised the alarm in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, saying several names published by INEC as the party’s candidates for the Anambra State House of Assembly were neither nominated nor submitted by the NDC.

 

He noted that the issue was particularly significant because Anambra is the home state of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

 

Following the allegations, INEC commenced an examination of its records to determine how the disputed names appeared on the NDC’s candidate list.

 

The commission, however, denied replacing candidates nominated by the party with individuals of its choice.

 

INEC’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, said the commission had no legal authority to nominate candidates for political parties or substitute validly nominated candidates with its preferred persons.