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Appeals to national leadership for justice
A House of Assembly aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Aba Central Constituency in Abia State, Casmir Nnolim, has appealed to the party’s national leadership to disregard alleged attempts to impose another aspirant as the party’s candidate, insisting that no primary election was held to produce a candidate, even though there was no consensus among the aspirants.
Nnolim, in a statement made available to Sunday Sun on Saturday, urged the National Chairman, members of the National Working Committee (NWC), and other party leaders to ensure fairness and transparency in resolving the inconclusive primary election for the Aba Central State Constituency.
His latest protest comes amid a growing wave of discontent among NDC aspirants across the country over the conduct of the party’s primaries, with several contestants accusing local party leaders of irregularities, lack of transparency, and attempts to overturn the outcome of the exercises in favour of preferred candidates.
Nnolim’s grievance followed a letter dated June 23, 2026, reportedly written by the NDC chairmen and secretaries of Aba South and Aba North Local Government Areas to the party’s National Chairman, recommending that one of the aspirants, Mr Ogbu Onyemaechi Sunday, be declared the winner of the inconclusive primary.
Rejecting the recommendation, Nnolim argued that the primary election did not produce a declared winner because unresolved issues remained, adding that any attempt to announce a candidate outside a transparent process would undermine the party’s democratic principles.
He maintained that, contrary to claims in the letter that declaring Ogbu the winner would avert protests and improve the party’s electoral chances, he enjoys wider grassroots acceptance in the constituency.
According to him, his record of community service and his role as an employer of more than 200 people accounted for the massive support he received from party faithful during the primary election.
The aspirant further alleged that some local party officials who endorsed Ogbu had earlier approached his campaign with demands suggesting personal financial interests, claiming their subsequent position raised questions about the credibility of their recommendation.
He also expressed concern over the management of a WhatsApp platform created for aspirants, alleging that Ogbu was later made an administrator under circumstances he described as suggestive of bias.
Nnolim warned that accepting the recommendation of the local party officials could alienate party supporters in Aba North and Aba South and jeopardise the NDC’s chances not only in the Aba Central State Assembly election but also in other contests.
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He therefore appealed to the party’s leadership to uphold justice, equity, and the will of party members in determining the eventual candidate.
The aspirant, however, clarified that the NDC had not collected any nomination fee or any other payment from him in respect of his aspiration.
The latest complaint adds to a series of grievances by NDC aspirants over the party’s primary elections.
In a telephone interview with Sunday Sun, the Chairman of Aba South Local Government Area of the NDC, Emenike Ikechukwu, neither confirmed nor denied authoring the said letter or recommending Ogbu as the preferred candidate.
“I don’t have anything to tell you about that letter because I have to see the letter first. I have to see the letter you’re talking about. I don’t even know you. I don’t have your contact,” he said, adding, “Kashmir is in a better position to lay his matter before me.”
He continued, “I have Kashmir as one of the aspirants here, I have Ogbu. I have David Duru, I have many, many more of them here. So if there is any misinformation within his position, he is in the best position to call me and confirm before going to the press to lay his complaint or ask me to sit on a press conference or whatever. I think it is a very wrong move. …after the primaries till today, I have not seen any of them, both Casmir and the rest. So I don’t know what you really want me to say concerning that letter.”
Attempts to reach the Aba North Local Government Area chairperson were unsuccessful, as several calls made by our correspondent did not connect.
Responding to similar complaints in recent weeks, the party’s National Leader, Seriake Dickson, had appealed to aggrieved aspirants to remain calm and pursue available internal dispute resolution mechanisms, assuring them that the leadership was committed to ensuring justice and protecting the integrity of the nomination process.
Similarly, the National Chairman, Cleopas Zuwoghe, had maintained that the party would not tolerate manipulation of its primaries, promising that all petitions would be examined on their merits and that only transparent and credible processes would determine the party’s candidates.
