The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has denied allegations that it removed candidates nominated by the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, and replaced them with unauthorized names in some Anambra and Benue State House of Assembly constituencies.
INEC said its records showed that the disputed candidates were included in the party’s nomination forms submitted to the commission and signed by the NDC’s National Chairman and National Secretary.
The commission stated this on Tuesday in a statement by Mohammed Kudu Haruna, Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee.
INEC stressed that the nomination of candidates was the exclusive responsibility of political parties and that it had no legal authority to select, insert, or substitute candidates for any party.
It added that access codes for its candidate nomination portal were issued directly to the national chairmen of all 22 registered political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The clarification followed allegations by the NDC that names of candidates it did not nominate had appeared on its published candidate lists in Anambra and other states.
INEC, however, maintained that the disputed names originated from submissions made by the party, describing claims that it independently altered the NDC’s candidate information as “unfounded and untrue.”
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