NDC disowns 10 Anambra candidates on INEC portal

The Nigeria Democratic Congress has disowned 10 candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 Anambra State House of Assembly elections, insisting that it neither nominated the persons nor submitted their Form EC9E documents.

The party also demanded an immediate electronic audit of INEC’s nomination portal to determine how the names and credentials of the candidates allegedly found their way into the commission’s system.

The NDC Director of New Media and Strategic Communications, Theophilus Agada, disclosed the party’s position in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday.

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 include Umennaajiego Ezenwa (Onitsha South 1), 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 party maintained that the process for nominating candidates was clearly defined, with political parties responsible for submitting the names and particulars of their candidates before INEC processes and publishes them.

“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.”

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Agada, therefore, queried how the commission obtained the credentials of the affected persons.

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

The latest development comes days after the NDC threatened to sue INEC over allegations that candidates nominated by the party for the 2027 State Houses of Assembly elections were replaced with persons it described as “strange names” unknown to the party.

The NDC had specifically accused the commission of publishing unauthorised names as its candidates in several constituencies, particularly in Anambra State, and alleged that the development was part of a wider pattern aimed at creating confusion and internal disaffection within opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The National Chairman of the party, Senator Moses Cleopas, raised the alarm in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.

Cleopas said the party had identified several names published by INEC as candidates for the Anambra State House of Assembly which, according to him, were neither nominated nor submitted by the NDC.

He also described the development as 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 names allegedly unknown to the NDC appeared on the party’s list of candidates for the 2027 elections.

The commission, however, denied the allegation that it replaced candidates nominated by the party with persons unknown to it.

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