Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has intensified its dispute with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the nomination of candidates for the 2027 Anambra State House of Assembly election, insisting that the electoral body must explain how it obtained Form EC9E for 10 candidates the party said it never submitted.
The party, in a statement signed by its Director of New Media and Strategic Communication, Agada Theophilus, maintained that it neither collected nor submitted the EC9E forms of the candidates published by INEC.
According to the NDC, the commission owes Nigerians an explanation regarding the source of the documents used in publishing the names of the affected candidates.
“The Nigeria Democratic Congress did not submit the EC9E forms of the 10 published Anambra candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The Commission should explain to the general public how it obtained the EC9E forms for these 10 candidates when the party did not submit any of them in the first place,” the statement read.
The party argued that the nomination procedure is straightforward and places the responsibility solely on political parties.
“The process is simple: the party submits, and INEC approves,” it stated.
The NDC further explained that while it uploaded the names of 10 candidates who emerged from its appeal process through INEC’s nomination portal, the commission allegedly rejected those candidates.
It questioned how the names eventually published by INEC were accompanied by completed EC9E forms despite its insistence that it never submitted such documents.
“The party submitted the names of the 10 candidates from the appeal process on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC portal, but the Commission rejected those approved candidates. Since the NDC neither collected nor submitted the completed EC9E forms of the 10 Anambra candidates published by INEC, how did the Commission obtain their credentials when it is the party’s legal duty to submit the names of its approved candidates?” the party asked.
The NDC also called on the electoral commission to carry out what it described as an electronic audit of its nomination portal.
“We call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct an electronic audit trail to determine how these 10 candidates were smuggled into its portal through the backend,” the statement added.
The latest demand comes days after INEC dismissed similar allegations by the party, describing them as unfounded.
In a statement issued on September 1 by the Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mohammed Kudu Haruna, the commission maintained that candidate nomination is the exclusive responsibility of political parties and that it has no legal authority to insert or substitute candidates.
INEC said all registered political parties had designated two trained officers to manage candidate nominations through its portal, while access codes were issued directly to each party’s national chairman. It added that candidate lists were generated from submissions jointly signed by party national chairmen and national secretaries using the EC9 series of nomination forms.
The commission also disclosed that it was in possession of Form EC9E for the disputed candidates, stating that the documents were duly signed by the NDC’s National Chairman and National Secretary.
“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,” INEC had stated.
The commission reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, accountability and a level playing field for all political parties, while insisting that it neither uploads nor alters candidates’ information independently.
The renewed exchange between the NDC and INEC has further heightened controversy over the party’s Anambra State House of Assembly nominations ahead of the 2027 general election, with the NDC now demanding a forensic electronic audit of the nomination process.
