Ex-lawmaker accuses Imo NDC of election manipulation

Former federal lawmaker, Uche Nwole, has accused some powerful people in the Imo State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) of taking over its structure and rigging the primary elections. Nwole made these claims in a petition he sent to the party’s national leadership in Abuja. He warned that these actions could hurt the NDC’s chances in the 2027 general elections.

While speaking to journalists in Abuja, Nwole said he joined the NDC because of its vision, manifesto, and leadership. He expressed his support for the party’s presidential candidate, Dr. Peter Obi, calling him a symbol of national renewal.

Nwole's main issue is with how the party’s primary elections were conducted in Imo State. He said officials sent from the party headquarters to supervise the elections were stopped from doing their jobs. He said, “There was never any primary election supervised by the officers sent by the party to exercise such a function. We cannot allow democracy to be hijacked by any individual. Political parties must remain institutions governed by rules and collective decisions, not personal interests. We are in pain and request justice for the sake of our great party in the 2027 elections. Otherwise, it will be a disaster for the party in the State.”

Nwole also claimed that the results from the disputed primary elections were ignored by the national leadership. Instead, they accepted what he called “parallel results.” He mentioned that the aspirants affected by this issue formally complained to the party’s leadership for clarification on the primary election results and the party structure in the state. “We urge the panel to disregard the purported and or forged results of the primaries paraded by the electoral Panel as there was never a primary election by them. The party leaders are advised to evaluate the aspirants, consider financial capacity, experiences, and personal capacity to face the Imo APC government headed by the chairman of the Governor’s Forum,” he stated.

These allegations come as many people are uncertain about the NDC’s primary elections across the country. Several contestants are questioning the results and asking for reviews. When asked, the party leadership admitted that they are dealing with serious issues in the South-East, especially in Imo and Abia states.

NDC Deputy National Spokesman, Abdulmumin Abdulsalam, confirmed that the party has received many complaints from the region. He said they are taking their time to check the results coming from the affected states. He said, “You can see that we have been taking our time in arriving at the results coming in from around the country. We have been collating all the results for the past four days now. We particularly have a challenge in the South-East. Other ones are actually okay. There is not much rancour, no infighting, factionalization or accusation of structural hijacking and all that. But what we have in the South-East is very unfortunate.”

Abdulsalam pointed out that the party is facing many crises in the region, especially in Imo and Abia States. There are reports of factional chairmen and issues with party structures. He assured that party leaders are working hard to fix these problems. He stated, “We are taking our time to make sure that we don’t mix up fake results with the valid ones. They have been very open and forthcoming with the valid and approved results to make sure that we don’t make mistakes.”

He added, “We are aware some forces have infiltrated our party in the South-East just to make sure that they undermine the mission of Peter Obi. They are trying to see how they can create confusion by bringing fake results to us here. But then, we are equal to the task and we are on top of the game. All these issues will be brought to the fore and deliberated upon. Far-reaching decisions will be taken at the NEC meeting tomorrow.”

The NDC’s admission comes just days after it distanced itself from several primary election results circulating on social media. The party insisted that only the National Executive Council can announce official outcomes. They also said that their NEC would meet to review reports from across the country and sort out disputes from the primary elections. With claims of parallel primaries, factional structures, and infiltration now coming up in the South-East, the outcome of the NEC meeting is expected to shape the party’s future and its plans for the 2027 elections.