RismadarVoice Reporters, September 2, 2026
The Independent National Electoral Commission has denied allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress that it tampered with the party’s candidate list for some State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra and Benue states.
INEC said its records showed that the disputed names were submitted by the NDC and duly endorsed by the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary.
The commission clarified a statement issued on Tuesday by the Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna.
According to INEC, it has in its possession the relevant Form EC9E containing the names of the candidates in question, with the required signatures of the NDC national officers.
The electoral body maintained that political parties have the exclusive responsibility for nominating candidates, stressing that INEC has no legal authority to select, insert or replace a candidate on behalf of any party.
It also clarified that while the commission is mandated to monitor party primaries, such oversight does not empower it to impose candidates on political parties.
“Monitoring a party’s primary is a statutory oversight function only and confers no power on INEC to choose or impose a candidate,” the commission stated.
INEC further disclosed that, ahead of the 2027 general elections, all 22 registered political parties designated two technically trained officials each to manage their candidate nomination processes after undergoing training organised by the commission.
The commission said access codes to its candidate nomination portal were subsequently handed directly to the national chairmen of the parties.
INEC explained that candidate lists were generated from submissions made by political parties through the Form EC9 series, which were jointly signed by their national chairmen and national secretaries.
It consequently rejected claims that it independently uploaded or altered information relating to the NDC’s candidates, describing the allegation as unfounded.
The clarification followed complaints by the NDC that names of individuals it neither nominated nor authorised had appeared on its published candidate list for some State House of Assembly constituencies.
The party had alleged that INEC removed candidates it nominated and replaced them with names unknown to its leadership. It also claimed to have observed similar discrepancies in other states.
The NDC National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, subsequently called on the INEC Chairman to investigate the matter and determine how the disputed names came to be listed as candidates of the party.
The commission, however, maintained that its documentary and electronic records would establish the source of the candidate information submitted for the affected constituencies.
