The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) that it tampered with the party's candidate lists for State House of Assembly constituencies in Anambra and Benue states, stating that its records show the disputed candidates were listed on forms duly signed by the party's own national chairman and secretary.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, Chairman of INEC's Information and Voter Education Committee, said the commission possesses Form EC9E where the candidates were listed and submitted, signed by the NDC's National Chairman and National Secretary. The statement was reported by The Punch.
“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,” Haruna said.
INEC clarifies its role in candidate nomination
INEC emphasised that it has no legal authority to select, insert, or substitute a candidate for any political party, describing candidate nomination as the exclusive responsibility of registered 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 stated.
The commission also clarified that its role in monitoring party primaries does not extend to influencing who a party fields. “Monitoring a party's primary is a statutory oversight function only and confers no power on INEC to choose or impose a candidate,” it added.
Nomination process for the 2027 elections
INEC explained that ahead of the 2027 general elections, all 22 registered political parties each designated two technically trained officers to manage their candidate submissions after a training session organised by the commission. Portal access codes were then handed directly and in person to each party's national chairman.
Candidate lists, INEC said, were generated solely from submissions made by the parties themselves and jointly signed by their national chairmen and national secretaries through the Form EC9 series. “Therefore, any claim that the Commission independently uploaded or altered candidate information is unfounded and untrue,” the statement said.
NDC's allegations and legal action
The NDC's National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, had earlier alleged that names unknown to the party appeared on its published candidate lists for several constituencies. The party said it first noticed the pattern in Anambra State before identifying similar concerns in Benue and Imo states.
Cleopas called on the INEC chairman to launch an urgent investigation into how the names surfaced. “We call on the INEC chairman to urgently and immediately cause an investigation into the matter and unravel how this came to be,” the NDC said.
Before the full clarification, INEC's Chief Press Secretary, Adedayo Oketola, had signalled the commission's intention to rely on electronic and documentary records to resolve the dispute. Oketola noted that “It is, therefore, possible to establish objectively the history and source of entries relating to any candidate whose name appears on the portal.”
Separately, businessman Pratt Tunde filed a federal high court suit after allegedly discovering his NDC candidacy was secretly swapped on August 1, 2026. Pratt won the NDC primary for Lagos Mainland Federal Constituency on May 29, 2026, with INEC monitoring the election. The suit named INEC and the NDC as respondents and sought an urgent hearing to prevent ballot papers being printed with the wrong candidate's name.
INEC reiterated its commitment to transparency and a level playing field for all parties in the electoral process, as the dispute continues to unfold ahead of the 2027 elections.
