The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has renewed its allegation that it did not submit the names and details of 10 candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for various Anambra State House of Assembly constituencies.

The latest claim comes after INEC rejected the party’s earlier allegation that it had independently uploaded or altered candidate information ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The dispute now centres on how the 10 candidates’ details and EC9E forms appeared on the INEC portal, with the NDC demanding that the electoral commission explain their source.

At a Glance

• The NDC says it did not submit the 10 published Anambra candidates to INEC.
• The party says the candidates did not emerge from its nomination process.
• The NDC also says it did not submit the EC9E forms of the 10 candidates.
• INEC has rejected claims that it independently uploaded or altered candidate information.
• The NDC is demanding an electronic audit trail of how the candidates’ details reached the INEC portal.
• The dispute concerns candidates published for various Anambra State House of Assembly constituencies ahead of the 2027 elections.

How the Dispute Developed

The controversy first emerged when the NDC accused INEC of illegally replacing some of its candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued on Sunday by its National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, the party alleged that 10 names published by INEC as NDC candidates for various Anambra State House of Assembly constituencies were unknown to the party.

The NDC said the individuals did not emerge from its nomination process and maintained that the names published by INEC were not the candidates it had submitted.

The party subsequently challenged the presence of the names on the commission’s platform.

INEC Rejects NDC’s Allegation

INEC responded to the allegation on Tuesday through Mohammed Kudu Haruna, Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC).

The commission said any claim that it had independently uploaded or altered candidate information was unfounded and untrue.

INEC’s response effectively rejected the NDC’s account of how the disputed candidate information appeared on the electoral commission’s platform.

The disagreement, however, did not end with the commission’s statement.

NDC Renews Its Challenge

On Wednesday, the NDC, through its Director of New Media and Strategic Communications, Agada Abuh Theophilus, renewed its claim that the party did not submit the EC9E forms of the 10 published Anambra candidates to INEC.

Theophilus called on the commission to explain how it obtained the forms and candidate details when, according to the party, the NDC had not submitted them.

“The process is simple: the party submits, and INEC approves,” the NDC spokesperson said.

Theophilus also claimed that the candidates submitted by the NDC through its appeal process were rejected by INEC, raising a further question about how the details of the published candidates subsequently appeared on the commission’s portal.

NDC Demands Electronic Audit Trail

The NDC has now called on INEC to conduct an electronic audit trail to establish how the 10 candidates’ information entered its portal.

The party alleged that the candidates were “smuggled” into the system through the backend.

Theophilus questioned how INEC obtained the credentials of the 10 candidates when, according to the NDC, the party neither collected nor submitted their completed EC9E forms.

The demand places the focus of the dispute on the origin and movement of the candidate information within the electoral commission’s system.

At this stage, the supplied statements establish competing positions: the NDC says it did not submit the disputed candidates’ forms, while INEC has rejected claims that it independently uploaded or altered candidate information.

Why It Matters

The dispute is significant because it concerns the candidate information being presented by the electoral commission ahead of the 2027 elections.

For the NDC, the central issue is how individuals it says did not emerge from its nomination process came to be published as its candidates.

For INEC, the commission has rejected the allegation that it independently uploaded or altered candidate information.

Resolving the disagreement therefore depends on establishing how the disputed candidate details and EC9E forms reached the commission’s portal.

Election Outlook

The NDC has demanded an electronic audit trail to determine how the 10 disputed Anambra candidates were entered into the INEC portal.

INEC has, meanwhile, rejected the party’s allegation that the commission independently uploaded or altered candidate information.

The material available does not establish that an audit has been conducted or indicate what further action INEC will take. The next substantive development will therefore depend on any additional clarification, verification or official response concerning the disputed candidate records.