The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) that it removed the party’s duly nominated candidates for the 2027 general elections and replaced them with names not authorised by the party.
The controversy centres mainly on several State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra State, where the NDC alleged that names of individuals who did not emerge from its nomination process were published by the electoral commission as its candidates.
The party raised the alarm after INEC released its list of candidates for the 2027 State House of Assembly elections, accusing the commission and some of its officials of uploading and publishing unauthorised names on the candidate list.
The NDC claimed that the disputed names did not originate from the party and were neither approved nor submitted through its nomination process. The party also expressed concern over the development because Anambra is the home state of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
However, INEC rejected the allegation, insisting that the commission lacks both the legal authority and institutional mandate to nominate candidates for political parties or replace candidates validly nominated by them.
Adedayo Oketola, Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, explained that candidate nomination remains the responsibility of political parties, subject to the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and other relevant laws, regulations and guidelines.
According to him, political parties are responsible for conducting their primaries, resolving internal nomination issues and submitting the particulars of their candidates to INEC through the commission’s designated candidate nomination portal.
He noted that parties access the portal with credentials issued to them by INEC, while every activity carried out on the platform is electronically recorded. The commission’s records and audit trail, he said, can therefore be used to determine when, how and from where the details of any candidate appearing on the portal were submitted.
INEC consequently urged that the dispute should be examined through documentary and electronic evidence rather than speculation, stressing that the relevant records would provide an objective account of what transpired during the nomination and submission process.
The commission also clarified that its statutory responsibility to monitor political party primaries does not extend to selecting candidates on behalf of political parties.
INEC officials may attend and monitor party primaries as part of the commission’s regulatory responsibilities, but such monitoring does not confer on the commission the power to determine who becomes a party’s candidate.
The electoral body further maintained that disputes arising from party primaries, appeals or subsequent attempts to alter a candidate list must be addressed within the framework of the Electoral Act 2026 and other applicable laws.
The latest development has placed renewed attention on the integrity of the candidate nomination process ahead of the 2027 elections, particularly on the role of INEC’s electronic nomination portal and the safeguards governing the submission and publication of candidates.
While the NDC has called for an explanation of how the disputed names appeared on the published list, INEC has maintained that its records and audit trail are capable of establishing the source of every candidate entry.
The dispute therefore remains centred on a key question: whether the names published by INEC were submitted through the authorised party nomination process or entered into the commission’s system through another channel.
For now, INEC has firmly rejected any suggestion that it has the power to impose candidates on political parties, while the NDC continues to challenge the appearance of the disputed names on the electoral commission’s list.
