By Our Correspondent
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) that it removed the party’s validly nominated candidates for some State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra State and replaced them with unauthorised names ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The commission, in a statement signed by the Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, described the allegation as “unfounded” and insisted that it has no legal power to select, insert or substitute candidates for political parties.
The statement was issued in reaction to claims by the leadership of the NDC that its candidates in some constituencies in Anambra and Benue states had been removed from the electoral commission’s records and replaced with names not authorised by the party.
The controversy is particularly significant in Anambra, where political parties are already positioning themselves for the 2027 elections and the nomination of candidates for the State House of Assembly remains a critical part of the electoral process.
INEC explained that candidate nomination was exclusively the responsibility of political parties, while its role in relation to party primaries was limited to statutory monitoring and oversight.
According to the commission, such monitoring did not confer on it the power to choose or impose candidates on any political party.
It further disclosed that, ahead of the 2027 election, all 22 registered political parties designated two technically trained officers to handle their nomination processes after undergoing training organised by INEC.
The commission said portal access codes for the nomination process were issued directly and personally to the national chairmen of the respective political parties and not through proxies.
It added that candidate lists were generated from submissions made by the political parties and jointly signed by their national chairmen and national secretaries before being submitted through Form EC9 series (A-G).
INEC therefore rejected any suggestion that it independently uploaded or altered candidate information submitted by the NDC or any other political party.
“As a matter of fact, the Commission has in its possession, Form EC9E where these candidates were listed and submitted to the Commission duly signed by the National Chairman and the National Secretary of the party,” the statement said.
The commission maintained that the documents in its possession constituted evidence of the candidates submitted by the party through the prescribed process.
INEC said it remained committed to transparency, accountability and providing a level playing field for all political parties and other stakeholders in the electoral process.
The electoral body did not, in the statement, identify the particular Anambra State constituencies or candidates at the centre of the NDC’s allegation.
