The Commission insists it has no legal authority to nominate candidates and says its electronic records can objectively verify the source of the disputed entries.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has dismissed allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) that its officials removed candidates nominated by the party for the 2027 general election and replaced them with names allegedly unknown to the party, particularly in Anambra State .
In a chat with newsmen on Monday, the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, said the commission had neither the constitutional nor statutory authority to nominate candidates for political parties, insisting that the responsibility rests squarely with the parties .
Oketola said the commission would scrutinise its electronic and documentary records concerning the constituencies identified by the NDC to establish how the disputed names came to appear on the candidate nomination portal . He explained that every activity undertaken through the portal is electronically recorded, making it possible to trace the history of entries and determine where and how particular names were submitted .
“Rather than make categorical assertions on matters that can readily be established from those records, the commission will examine the relevant records relating to the constituencies identified by the NDC,” Oketola stated .
The NDC National Chairman, Senator Moses Cleopas Zuwoghe, had alleged that 10 names published as NDC candidates for various Anambra State House of Assembly constituencies were unknown to the party and were not submitted by it . He claimed that INEC officials kept some of the party’s submitted names on “Pending” status and later obtained Form EC9 directly from the disputed candidates, bypassing the NDC .
However, Oketola urged the NDC to provide any evidence implicating INEC officials. “If the party has evidence implicating any official of the commission in any unauthorised interference with its candidate nomination process, it should make such evidence and the particulars of the officials concerned available to the commission,” he said .
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