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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress that it removed the party’s candidates for the 2027 general elections and replaced them with names allegedly unknown to the party.
The allegations, which mainly concern some State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra State, were dismissed by INEC’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola.
The NDC had accused INEC officials of uploading and publishing unauthorised names as its candidates in nine constituencies, describing the development as a deliberate attempt to sabotage the party ahead of the elections.
However, Oketola said INEC had no legal authority to nominate candidates for political parties or substitute candidates validly nominated by them.
“For the avoidance of doubt, INEC does not nominate candidates for political parties. The nomination of candidates is the responsibility of political parties, subject to compliance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026 and other applicable laws, Regulations and Guidelines,” he said.
He explained that political parties nominate and submit their candidates through the commission’s candidate nomination portal, adding that all activities on the platform are electronically recorded and can be verified through INEC’s records and audit trail.
“It is therefore possible to establish objectively the history and source of entries relating to any candidate whose name appears on the portal,” Oketola said.
He also dismissed the suggestion that INEC’s monitoring of party primaries gave the commission the power to select candidates.
“Neither does a report made by officials who monitor a primary confer upon the Commission the power to choose a candidate for the political party,” he said.
On the NDC’s allegation that INEC officials obtained Form EC9 directly from aspirants and uploaded their details without the party’s authorisation, Oketola described the claim as serious but said it could be verified from the commission’s records.
“Rather than make categorical assertions on matters that can readily be established from those records, the Commission will examine the relevant records relating to the constituencies identified by the NDC,” he said.
Oketola urged the NDC to provide evidence and details of any INEC officials allegedly involved, assuring that credible allegations of misconduct would be investigated.
He said INEC had no interest in determining which candidates political parties fielded, stressing that its responsibility was to administer elections impartially and within the law.
“The commission will neither nominate candidates for political parties nor lend itself to the imposition of candidates on any political party,” Oketola said.
The NDC National Chairman, Moses Zuwoghe, had called on the INEC Chairman to investigate the alleged substitution and determine how the names were published as candidates of the party.
“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 also alleged that similar incidents occurred in Benue and Imo states, saying the development had caused disaffection among its supporters ahead of the 2027 elections.
