2027: NDC Faces Fresh Crisis As Primary Election Panel Chair Forwards Abia Candidates’ List To INEC
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) may be heading for a fresh internal crisis following the submission of a list of candidates purportedly produced from the party’s governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly primary elections in Abia State directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the Chairman of the Primary Election Committee, Chief Asukewe Ikoawaji.
The development has sparked controversy within the party, with critics arguing that the action may have contravened established procedures governing the submission of candidates’ names to the electoral commission.
Party officials familiar with the process contended that the responsibility for communicating and submitting the names of nominated candidates to INEC rests with the party’s national leadership, particularly the National Chairman and National Secretary of the party.
However, documents obtained by journalists indicated that Chief Ikoawaji, who chaired the NDC Primary Election Committee in Abia State, wrote directly to the Chairman of INEC through the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Abia State on May 30, 2026, forwarding what he described as the outcome of the party’s primary elections conducted on May 29, 2026.
In the letter titled, “The Outcome of the NDC Primary Election in Abia State,” Ikoawaji stated that election results from all local government areas and constituencies in the state had been collated and finalised at the party’s state headquarters.
He further claimed that the collation exercise was witnessed by an INEC official identified as Mrs. Chioma, alongside security personnel, members of the election committee and party officials.
“I hereby forward the election result of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Primary Election held on 29/05/2026 in all the Local Government Areas and Constituencies in Abia State and the final collation result at the Party Headquarters, No. 2 Nsukka Street, Umuahia,” the letter partly read.
The committee chairman also informed INEC that the results had been transmitted to the party’s national headquarters in Abuja in accordance with the party’s constitution. Attached to the correspondence were copies of the notification of election committee members, election guidelines and the results, which he said were submitted for the commission’s necessary action.
In a separate letter addressed to the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Abia State, Ikoawaji sought to correct what he described as errors in an earlier list of members of the Governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly Electoral Committee previously forwarded to the commission.
In the correspondence, he also presented himself as the sole electoral and returning officer for the primary elections conducted across the state’s 17 local government areas on May 29, 2026. The letter stated that the revised submission superseded all previous lists sent to INEC regarding the conduct of the primaries in the state.
The development has generated concern among party stakeholders, who argue that the direct submission of primary election outcomes by a committee chairman could trigger legal and procedural disputes within the party, particularly if the lists differ from those eventually submitted by the party’s national leadership.
Observers noted that the situation could further deepen existing tensions within the NDC if not promptly addressed through the party’s internal dispute-resolution mechanisms and in compliance with applicable electoral regulations governing party primaries and candidate nominations.
As of press time, neither the national leadership of the NDC nor INEC had issued an official statement on the matter. Efforts to obtain comments from key parties involved were also unsuccessful as at press time.
