Delta politician sues NDC and INEC over governorship primary

Ejaife Omizu Odebala has taken the Nigeria Democratic Congress and Nigeria’s electoral commission to court, insisting that he, not the party’s submitted candidate, won the Delta State governorship primary.

In a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Odebala asks the court to declare him the winner of the primary held on May 29, 2026. He says he received the highest number of valid votes, including results from Ughelli North, Okpe and Isoko North local government areas.

Odebala argues that the NDC therefore cannot lawfully submit anyone else’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2027 Delta State governorship election. He is also asking the court to reject any alternative final results from the primary and to stop another person from presenting himself as the NDC candidate.

The plaintiff wants the NDC and INEC to replace any name already submitted with his own. He is also seeking nomination and expression-of-interest forms, along with Form EC9, as the alleged winner of the party primary.

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A declaration that the Plaintiff, having scored the highest number of valid votes cast at the Delta State Governorship Primary Election of the 2nd Defendant held on the 29th May, 2026, ought to and should be returned and declared the winner of the 2nd Defendant’s Delta State Governorship Primary Election and, accordingly, be returned as the candidate of the 2nd Defendant for the 2027 Delta State Governorship Election.