The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has disowned 10 names released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its candidates for the 2027 Anambra State House of Assembly elections.
The party alleged that the individuals were neither nominated nor approved by its leadership, describing their appearance on the INEC list as an unauthorised substitution.
According to Politics Nigeria, the NDC accused some INEC officials of deliberately removing its legitimate candidates and replacing them with individuals it referred to as “INEC-chosen imposters.”
The party warned that the alleged action could disrupt its preparations for the 2027 general elections and create confusion among its members and supporters.
NDC National Chairman, Moses Zuwoghe, made the allegations in a statement released on Sunday. He said the disputed names appeared on INEC’s candidate list even though they were not among those submitted by the party.
Zuwoghe said the situation was particularly concerning because Anambra is the home state of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
He explained that he personally controlled the credentials used by the NDC to upload its candidates to the INEC portal and maintained that the disputed names were not uploaded by him or the party.
“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,” Zuwoghe said.
He added that the party had not submitted the names that later appeared on the commission’s list.
The 10 disputed names and their constituencies are:
– Umennaajiego Jude Ezenwa — Onitsha South 1
– Akpotue Obinna Chibuike — Onitsha South 2
– Nwankwo Chiemerie — Orumba North
– Maduagwu Eric K — Anaocha 1
– Ngoebisi Obinna — Idemili North
– Isintume Charles — Njikoka 1
– Nwachukwu Nonso — Nnewi South
– Okeke Ifeanyi Akunne — Nnewi South 2
– Nnonyelu Samson E — Ayamelum
– Azotani Chuks Francis — Dunukofia
The NDC chairman described the alleged substitution as a major electoral concern. He argued that INEC had no basis to insert names into a political party’s candidate list without the party’s approval.
Zuwoghe said that where the commission encountered conflicting information during the candidate-upload process, the affected positions should have remained open until the issue was resolved.
He maintained that publishing candidates who were not recognised by the party was unacceptable and could undermine confidence in the electoral system.
The NDC further claimed that similar incidents had occurred in other states, including Benue and Imo, where it alleged that some of its candidates were also being prevented from appearing on official lists.
Zuwoghe therefore appealed to the INEC Chairman to launch an immediate investigation into the matter and establish how the disputed names were included in the commission’s publication.
He said the probe should extend to every constituency where the party believes its duly nominated candidates may have been replaced.
The NDC chairman also alleged that a broader pattern was emerging in which political parties were allegedly unable to upload their nominated candidates while alternative names were subsequently entered into the system.
According to him, if proven, such practices could trigger disputes within political parties and further weaken public trust in elections.
The party said it was prepared to take legal action to challenge the alleged irregularities and would continue pursuing the matter until its legitimate candidates were restored.
Zuwoghe also directed NDC members and supporters not to recognise the 10 individuals listed by INEC, insisting that they were not the party’s duly nominated candidates for the affected Anambra constituencies.
