INEC DENIES REMOVING, REPLACING NDC CANDIDATES IN ANAMBRA, BENUE
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By: Fasasi Hammad
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has taken note of a statement issued by the leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), alleging that the Commission removed the party’s validly nominated candidates for some State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra and Benue States and replaced them with unauthorised names.
The Commission has described the allegations as unfounded and clarified that candidate nomination is, by law, the exclusive responsibility of political parties.
INEC stressed that it has no legal authority to select, insert or replace candidates submitted by political parties. According to the Commission, its monitoring of party primaries is a statutory oversight responsibility and does not confer any power on it to choose or impose candidates on political parties.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, INEC said all 22 registered political parties nominated two technically trained officials to manage their candidate nomination processes after participating in training organised by the Commission.
The Commission explained that portal access codes were subsequently issued directly and personally to the National Chairmen of the respective political parties and were not released through proxies.
It added that each party’s list of candidates was generated from information submitted by the party and jointly signed by its National Chairman and National Secretary through the Form EC9 series (A-G).
INEC therefore dismissed claims that it independently uploaded, altered or substituted candidate information submitted by the NDC.
The Commission further stated that it has in its possession Form EC9E containing the names of the candidates in question, as submitted to the Commission and duly signed by the NDC National Chairman and National Secretary.
INEC reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, accountability and ensuring a level playing field for all political parties and stakeholders in the electoral process.
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