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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

INEC Denies Altering NDC Candidate List, Says Names Came From Party Submissions

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Ongoing story
  • INEC denied altering the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate list for some State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra and Benue states.
  • The commission said the disputed names appeared on Form EC9E, signed and submitted by the party’s national chairman and secretary.
  • INEC said political parties alone nominate candidates and that its role in monitoring primaries does not allow it to impose or replace nominees.

Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission has rejected allegations that it removed the Nigeria Democratic Congress’s candidates from some constituencies and replaced them with unauthorised names.

The dispute concerns State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra and Benue states. INEC said its records show that the contested candidates appeared on Form EC9E, which the commission said the NDC national chairman and national secretary signed and submitted.

It is, therefore, possible to establish objectively the history and source of entries relating to any candidate whose name appears on the portal.

— Adedayo OketolaThe INEC press secretary described how the commission would verify disputed candidate records.

The commission had earlier said it would use its electronic and documentary records to trace the history of entries on its candidate portal. “It is, therefore, possible to establish objectively the history and source of entries relating to any candidate whose name appears on the portal,” said Adedayo Oketola, INEC’s chief press secretary and media adviser to the commission’s chairman.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, chairman of INEC’s Information and Voter Education Committee, reiterated that candidate nomination belongs to political parties. “Candidate nomination is, by law, the exclusive responsibility of political parties. INEC has no legal authority to select, insert, or substitute a candidate for any party,” the commission said.

Candidate nomination is, by law, the exclusive responsibility of political parties. INEC has no legal authority to select, insert, or substitute a candidate for any party.

— INECThe commission rejected claims that it changed the NDC’s nominees.

INEC also distinguished between monitoring party primaries and submitting candidate names. “Monitoring a party’s primary is a statutory oversight function only and confers no power on INEC to choose or impose a candidate,” it said.

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, INEC said all 22 registered parties had designated two technically trained officers to manage nominations after training organised by the commission. It added that portal access codes were issued directly to each party’s national chairman. Candidate lists, it said, came from party submissions jointly signed by national chairmen and national secretaries.

Monitoring a party’s primary is a statutory oversight function only and confers no power on INEC to choose or impose a candidate.

— INECThe commission clarified the limits of its role during party primaries.
About this summary

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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