The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) that it replaced the party’s candidates with names not authorised by its leadership ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to TheCable, INEC’s Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, said on Monday that the commission does not have the authority to select or substitute candidates on behalf of political parties, stressing that candidate nomination remains the responsibility of the parties.
“The Commission does not possess the legal authority to select a candidate for a political party or substitute its own preferred candidate for a person validly nominated by a political party in accordance with the law,” Oketola said.
Oketola said the nomination process is conducted through the commission’s official electronic platform, where political parties upload details of their candidates.
He explained that parties are responsible for submitting their candidates through the system, while INEC’s role is to receive and process the information in line with relevant electoral laws and regulations.
INEC’s position comes as concerns grow over the list of candidates published for the 2027 State House of Assembly elections, particularly entries under the NDC in Anambra State.
Oketola said the commission’s electronic system keeps records of activities carried out on the nomination platform, including information that could help establish how particular entries were submitted.
He added that INEC could examine its records to determine what occurred regarding the names questioned by the NDC.
According to him, INEC’s monitoring of political party primaries does not give the commission control over the parties’ nomination processes or the authority to choose their candidates.
Oketola also urged the NDC to provide details of any officials it believes may have been involved in irregularities concerning the submission of its candidates.
He said such information would assist the commission in examining the allegations and determining whether any misconduct took place.
The commission maintained that its nomination system provides a record of candidate submissions and other activities carried out on the platform.
