The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of allegedly removing some of its nominated candidates for the 2027 general elections and replacing them with names unknown to the party.

The NDC made the allegation while reacting to the list of candidates for State Houses of Assembly elections published by INEC on Sunday.

In a statement, the NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, described the published names as a deliberate attempt to undermine the party ahead of the general elections and create dissatisfaction among its supporters.

The party particularly raised concerns over the Anambra State House of Assembly candidates' list, alleging that several names published by INEC were neither nominated nor authorised by the NDC.

“The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, totally condemns the action of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its officials over the uploading and publication of unauthorized names in various constituencies, principally in the Anambra State House of Assembly, where names unknown to the party, names not authorized by the party and names not sent by the party to INEC, in accordance with the law, have now been uploaded and published as candidates of the party,” the statement said.

The NDC chairman called on the INEC Chairman to immediately order an investigation into how the names were uploaded and published.

He also demanded that the investigation be extended to other constituencies across the country, claiming that the party had observed a pattern in which its authentic candidates were allegedly being replaced with individuals it described as imposters.

The party mentioned constituencies in states including Benue and Imo, alleging that the development had embarrassed its leadership and genuine candidates while causing disaffection among its supporters in Nigeria and the Diaspora.

According to Zuwoghe, the party had also commenced an independent investigation, with preliminary findings allegedly pointing to the possible involvement of INEC officials.

He alleged that the candidate-upload process was being used to intimidate and blackmail the party by allowing names not nominated by the NDC to appear as its candidates.

The NDC listed the following names among those it claimed were improperly included on its Anambra State House of Assembly candidates' list:

Onitsha South 1 – Umennaajiego Jude Ezenwa

Onitsha South 2 – Akpotue Obinna Chibuike

Orumba North – Nwankwo Chiemerie

Anaocha 1 – Maduagwu Eric K

Idemili North – Ngoebisi Obinna

Njikoka 1 – Isintume Charles

Nnewi South – Nwachukwu Nonso

Nnewi South 2 – Okeke Ifeanyi Akunne

Ayamelum – Nnonyelu Samson E.

Dunukofia – Azotani Chuks Francis

The NDC chairman maintained that neither he nor the party uploaded the disputed names.

“I, as Chairman of the Party and custodian of the code given to the NDC for the upload of our candidates, never uploaded those names, and I unequivocally state that the party did not also upload those names,” he said.

He explained that after the party concluded its primaries and appeal process, stakeholders in Anambra, party leaders, representatives of its presidential candidate and members of the appeals panel produced what he described as the final list of candidates.

According to him, the list was approved by all relevant stakeholders before it was submitted through the INEC portal using the code issued to the party.

However, he alleged that some of the names remained on “Pending” status because INEC officials claimed their system already contained names submitted by officials who monitored the NDC primaries.

Zuwoghe said the party formally appealed against the disputed names, insisting that they did not emerge from its nomination process and submitting the names of its preferred candidates with the necessary documentation.

He alleged that INEC remained unwilling to make the changes and later collected Form EC-9 directly from the disputed candidates without going through the party before uploading and publishing their names.

The NDC chairman argued that the alleged action violated the Electoral Act and INEC's guidelines.

According to him, where there was a discrepancy between candidates submitted by a political party and names allegedly received by INEC monitoring officials, the commission should leave the affected spaces vacant rather than impose candidates on the party.

“At the very worst, INEC could have left us with no candidates for those positions, if they knew they were unwilling to engage us in addressing any perceived anomaly,” he added.

Zuwoghe also alleged that opposition parties were increasingly being prevented from uploading their preferred candidates while individuals were allegedly selected for them, creating internal disagreements and crises of confidence.

He said the NDC would pursue the matter to the end and seek legal redress to restore what it described as its authentic candidates.

“Even as we move to approach the court of competent jurisdiction to seek redress and restore our authentic candidates, the general public and our millions of supporters should note that these are not our candidates,” he said.