The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of allegedly replacing some of its nominated candidates with names that were not submitted or authorised by the party.
The allegation was contained in a press statement dated August 30, 2026, and signed by the NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe. The party said the issue was particularly troubling in Anambra State, the home state of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
According to the NDC, the names were published by INEC as candidates for various State Houses of Assembly constituencies despite the party insisting that they were neither selected by its leadership nor submitted to the commission through the proper process.
The party said it discovered the alleged irregularity after INEC published its list of candidates for the 2027 State Houses of Assembly elections.
“The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, totally condemns the action of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and it’s officials over the uploading and publication of unauthorized names in various constituencies, principally in the Anambra State House of Assembly (home state of our Presidential Candidate, His Excellency Peter Obi), where ten (10) names, unknown to the party; names not authorized by the party; names not sent by the party to INEC, in accordance with the law, have now been uploaded and published as candidates of the party,” the statement said.
The NDC called on INEC Chairman to immediately investigate what it described as a serious breach and reverse the publication.
“We call on the INEC Chairman to urgently and immediately cause an investigation into the matter and unravel how this came to be,” the party said.
The party also alleged that similar incidents had occurred in other parts of the country, including Benue and Imo states, warning that the situation could create confusion among its members and supporters ahead of the 2027 elections.
The NDC said it had begun its own investigation into the matter, adding that its preliminary findings suggested that officials of the electoral commission could have uploaded names different from those submitted by the party.
“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 purported to be our candidates, but who are not from us, and using the uploading process as a tool of blackmail and intimidation against the party, and getting those names to be uploaded and published, for whatever purpose or ulterior motive,”
Among the names listed by the NDC as allegedly appearing on the INEC list were candidates for Onitsha South 1, Onitsha South 2, Orumba North, Anaocha 1, Idemili North, Njikoka 1, Nnewi South 1, Nnewi South 2, Ayamelum and Dunukofia constituencies in Anambra State.
The party explained that following its primary elections and appeal process, stakeholders in Anambra had worked with the party leadership and representatives of its presidential candidate to produce a final list of candidates, which was signed off.
However, the NDC claimed that when its final list was uploaded to the INEC portal using the code supplied by the commission, the officials allegedly altered the names at the backend of the portal.
The party further alleged that after it formally appealed against the disputed names, INEC allegedly maintained its position and later sent the disputed list for publication.
Senator Zuwoghe described the situation as unacceptable, arguing that INEC could have left the affected positions vacant if there were concerns about the authenticity of the names submitted.
“At the very worst, INEC could have left us with no candidates for those positions, if they knew they were unwilling to engage us in addressing any perceived anomaly,” he said.
He accused the commission of creating confusion among genuine candidates and party supporters and said the NDC would pursue legal action.
The chairman added that the party was prepared to approach a court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress and restore what it described as its authentic candidates.
“Even as we move to approach the court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress and restore our authentic candidates, the general public and our millions of supporters should note that these are not our candidates,” Zuwoghe said.
The NDC said it would continue to pursue the matter until the alleged discrepancies were addressed and the candidates it originally nominated were restored.