INEC, NDC sued over candidate swap

By Damiete Braide

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) have been dragged before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged substitution of a candidate for the Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency election.

The suit was filed by Hon. Tunde Pratt, who claims to have emerged as the winner of the primary election conducted by the NDC for the constituency.

Pratt, through his counsel, Chief Ajose Abejoye, instituted the action seeking to reclaim what he described as his stolen democratic mandate.

In the suit, which is pending before Justice Aluko, the claimant alleged that the purported substitution of his name constituted an illegal and fundamental breach of the Electoral Act. He is asking the court to declare the alleged substitution illegal, null and void, and of no effect.

Pratt is also seeking an order compelling INEC to immediately restore his name to the ballot as the duly nominated candidate of the NDC for the Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency.

In his affidavit filed in support of the suit, Pratt averred that he emerged victorious in the primary election conducted on May 29, 2026, after securing the votes of the delegates who participated in the exercise.

He further claimed that the primary was conducted in accordance with the applicable rules and monitored and certified by INEC, thereby making him the validly nominated candidate of the party for the constituency. However, he alleged that the leadership of the NDC subsequently replaced his name with that of one Tunji Sanni.

Pratt described the alleged substitution as an unjustified act that deprived him of the mandate freely given to him by the delegates at the primary election.

He maintained that the development not only undermined the outcome of the primary but also deprived thousands of his supporters and constituents of their choice of candidate.

The claimant is therefore urging the court to intervene and restore what he described as the democratic mandate freely entrusted to him by the electorate and delegates of the Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency.

He contended that allowing the alleged substitution to stand would amount to legitimising a violation of the electoral process and the rights of those who participated in the primary election.