The Independent National Electoral Commission has denied allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress that it removed candidates nominated by the party for the 2027 general elections and replaced them with names allegedly unknown to the party.
The allegations, which particularly concern some State House of Assembly constituencies, were addressed by INEC’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, on Monday.
The NDC had, in a post on X, accused INEC and its officials of uploading and publishing unauthorized names in some constituencies in Anambra State.
The NDC National Chairman, Moses Zuwoghe, said the development was particularly disturbing because Anambra is the home state of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
However, responding to the allegations, Oketola stressed that INEC had no legal authority to nominate candidates for political parties or substitute its preferred candidates for those validly nominated by a political party in accordance with the law.
He explained that while political parties were responsible for nominating and submitting their candidates, INEC’s role was to administer the electoral process in accordance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act and applicable regulations and guidelines.
According to him, the candidate nomination portal provided by the commission is the platform through which political parties submit the particulars of their candidates using access credentials issued for that purpose.
He added that all activities carried out on the portal were electronically recorded and could be verified through the Commission’s records and audit trail.