Follow Us on Google
From Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The South-East bloc of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) has cautioned the party’s national leadership against imposing candidates and delaying the release of outstanding primary election results, warning that such actions could fuel internal crises and weaken the opposition ahead of the 2027 general election.
The group said unresolved disputes over party primaries could undermine members’ confidence and damage the NDC’s reputation as political parties race to beat the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deadlines for uploading candidates for the 2027 elections.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Sunday, the chairman of the NDC South-East Geopolitical Zone in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Maxwell Igbokwe, urged the party’s leadership to respect internal democracy by ensuring that only candidates who emerged through transparent primary elections were submitted to INEC.
He expressed concern that the results of some primary elections conducted more than two months ago had yet to be officially released, describing the delay as capable of deepening divisions within the party.
“We call on the leadership of our party to uphold the NDC constitution, respect the outcome of a transparent and lawful primary process, and ensure that no individual is imposed on the people,” Igbokwe said.
He warned that attempts to manipulate the nomination process would erode members’ confidence and undermine the credibility of a party founded on the principles of transparency, accountability and fairness.
The group specifically raised concerns over the House of Representatives primary for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in the FCT, alleging that the exercise had been manipulated.
According to Igbokwe, the NDC was established to provide Nigerians with an alternative to what he described as the undemocratic practices of older political parties and should not abandon the principles upon which it was founded.
He alleged that recent developments surrounding the AMAC/Bwari House of Representatives ticket suggested attempts to circumvent the democratic process.
The South-East bloc recalled public statements attributed to the party’s National Leader, Seriake Dickson, indicating that the House of Representatives ticket for the constituency had been offered to activist Aisha Yesufu despite the fact that she neither purchased nomination forms nor declared interest in contesting the election.
The group also referred to comments reportedly made by the party’s National Secretary, Ikenna Enekweizu, who was said to have disclosed in a media interview that the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, personally appealed to Yesufu to accept the nomination but that she declined.
Igbokwe said the reported developments raised serious questions about the integrity of the party’s nomination process.
“Our findings raise further concerns. We have reason to believe the party’s national leadership has been attempting to substitute or impose a candidate outside the established democratic process.
“If allowed to stand, such actions would undermine the credibility of our party, erode members’ confidence and violate the principles of fairness and due process on which the NDC was founded,” he said.
He added that the group’s intervention was aimed at protecting the party’s integrity rather than creating divisions, insisting that justice and due process must prevail.
Last week, the NDC was granted access to the commission’s candidate nomination portal, enabling it to commence the upload of its candidates.
