NDC Accuses INEC of Replacing Legitimate Candidates with Strange Names in Peter Obi’s Home State

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has raised the alarm over the integrity of candidate lists published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 general elections, accusing the electoral body of replacing its authentic nominees with unknown persons.

Reacting to the published register of candidates for the State Houses of Assembly elections, NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, described the development as a calculated attempt to sabotage the opposition and trigger internal conflict among party members and supporters.

The controversy is particularly sharp in Anambra State the home base of NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi where the party claimed that unauthorized names were uploaded as its candidates across multiple constituencies, including Onitsha South, Anaocha, Idemili North, Orumba North, and Nnewi South.

According to the NDC leadership, the party followed all due statutory procedures by conducting transparent primaries and appeals, after which an authenticated list of candidates was submitted to the electoral portal. However, party officials alleged that INEC placed several legitimate nominees on “pending” status under the pretext that alternative names had already been received from field monitoring personnel.

The party further claimed that despite formal protests and the resubmission of its genuine nominees with required cover letters, the commission went behind party structures to collect Form EC-9 nomination forms directly from disputed individuals and published their names.

The NDC argued that under the Electoral Act and established election guidelines, electoral management bodies have no power to impose or alter candidates chosen through valid party primaries. The party maintained that where genuine discrepancies exist between internal submissions and field reports, standard procedure requires the commission to consult party authorities or leave affected positions vacant until issues are resolved, rather than uploading unapproved names.

Calling for an immediate probe into potential complicity within electoral administrative desks, Cleopas urged INEC to review lists published for Anambra as well as similar discrepancies reported in Benue and Imo states. The party advised supporters to disregard the disputed names, confirming that it is filing legal action before a court of competent jurisdiction to ensure its authentic candidates are fully reinstated.