Abia NDC Group Urges INEC To Correct Candidate Substitution

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been counseled for its dedication to upholding the Electoral Act and defending democratic rules amid disputes over candidate substitutions in political events, significantly within the Abia Central Senatorial District.

The commendation was made by members of the NDC Concerned Movement in Abia State throughout a go to to the INEC workplace at Ogurube Layout, Umuahia, the place they urged the fee to make sure compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling of September 2026 and tackle alleged irregularities within the substitution of candidates.

The delegation was led by its coordinator, Barrister Chiadikobi Alusigwe, who mentioned the group got here to acknowledge INEC’s position in strengthening democracy and defending the provisions of the Electoral Act.

He counseled the fee for what he described as its doggedness in defending the pursuits of Abia Central Senatorial District and standing agency within the face of controversies surrounding the emergence and recognition of political candidates.

According to him, the fee’s insistence on adherence to electoral legal guidelines contributed to the authorized course of that culminated within the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in September 2026.

“We came to commend INEC for fostering the ideals of democracy and for its doggedness in defending the Electoral Act,” Alusigwe mentioned.

He argued that with out the fee’s place on the disputed candidacies, the judicial dedication of the matter may not have produced the result that favoured the affected candidates, including that the implications prolonged past Abia State to Nigeria’s democratic system.

The coordinator expressed concern over what he described because the rising observe of political events substituting the names of candidates who participated in and emerged from legitimate primaries with these of people who weren’t initially on the occasion lists.

He maintained that such practices undermined inside occasion democracy and disadvantaged professional aspirants of the chance to contest elections after fulfilling the prescribed necessities.

“We said no; democracy must survive in this country. INEC cannot be hand-twisted,” he declared.

Alusigwe consequently urged the fee to research alleged irregularities, implement the Supreme Court’s directives and proper discrepancies arising from candidate substitutions, significantly in Abia Central Senatorial District.

He careworn that the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral course of trusted the willingness of related establishments to implement the regulation with out worry or favour.

In his remarks, Engr. Ogbonna Ibeji Abarikwu, who was introduced by the motion because the NDC candidate for Abia Central Senatorial District, thanked his supporters for accompanying him to the fee and expressed appreciation for his or her confidence in his candidacy.

Abarikwu mentioned the go to was organised to congratulate INEC for resisting actions which, in his view, may have undermined electoral legal guidelines and the democratic course of.

He maintained that he was the rightful NDC candidate for the Abia Central Senatorial seat, alleging that the circumstances surrounding the substitution of his title raised severe questions on compliance with the occasion’s main election procedures.

According to him, Mrs. Nkechi Nworgu, whom he recognized as a former member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was not on the NDC’s membership register and didn’t take part within the occasion’s main election earlier than her title allegedly appeared on INEC’s portal as its candidate for the senatorial district.

Abarikwu mentioned he had participated within the NDC main election and emerged because the occasion’s candidate, questioning how his title was subsequently changed.

“I was the candidate who passed the primary election for the NDC in Abia Central Senatorial District. How my name was subsumed and substituted with the name of Hon. Mrs. Nkechi Nworgu became a huge mirage,” he mentioned.

He additional argued that the electoral framework required aspirants to adjust to occasion membership and first election procedures, insisting that the disputed substitution ought to be examined consistent with the related provisions of the regulation.

Abarikwu additionally cited INEC’s place on restrictions regarding participation in main elections throughout completely different political events inside a specified interval, arguing that such provisions had been meant to stop irregularities and protect the credibility of occasion nomination processes.

He mentioned the motion had beforehand drawn the eye of the occasion to what it thought-about an illegal motion, however alleged that its issues had been initially resisted.

According to him, the Supreme Court’s ruling had since supplied a foundation for in search of the correction of the disputed course of.

“We are calling on INEC to comply with the rulings of the Supreme Court wherever such anomalies exist in the country and ensure that they are corrected,” he mentioned.

The NDC candidate urged the fee to make sure that political events complied with electoral legal guidelines and that candidates who legitimately emerged by occasion primaries weren’t unlawfully displaced.

Responding, the Abia State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Sylvia Agu, counseled the NDC Concerned Movement for visiting the fee to specific its appreciation.