Uche Nwole accuses NDC of rigging Imo primaries

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

At a press conference in Abuja, Nwole shared his worries about the party’s primaries in Imo State. He said officials sent from the party's headquarters to oversee the elections were stopped from doing their work. He stated, “There was never any primary election supervised by the officers sent by the party to exercise such a function.”

Nwole insisted that personal interests should not compromise democracy. He stressed that political parties must follow rules and make decisions together. He said, “We cannot allow democracy to be hijacked by any individual. Political parties must remain institutions governed by rules and collective decisions, not personal interests.”

He also claimed that the results from the contested primaries were ignored by the national leaders in favor of what he called “parallel results.” Those affected by the situation have formally asked the party’s leaders for clarification on the validity of the primary election results and the party structure in Imo State.

Nwole urged the panel to reject the results of the primaries given by the electoral panel. He repeated that no legitimate primary election had taken place. He advised party leaders to judge aspirants based on their financial strength, experience, and readiness to challenge the Imo APC government.

These claims come as uncertainty grows over the NDC’s primaries across the country. Many candidates are disputing the results and calling for reviews. The party leaders admitted they are facing serious challenges in the South-East, especially in Imo and Abia states.

NDC Deputy National Spokesman Abdulmumin Abdulsalam confirmed that the party had received several complaints from the region. He said they are checking the authenticity of the results from the affected states. He noted, “You can see that we have been taking our time in arriving at the results coming in from around the country.”

Abdulsalam pointed out the special challenges in the South-East, where different factional chairmen and party structures have emerged. This has led to multiple primaries held by various factions. He assured that the party leaders are working hard to fix these problems and ensure the results are credible.

The NDC has distanced itself from many primary election results shared on social media. They said only the National Executive Council can announce official results. The party plans to hold a NEC meeting to review reports from all over the country and address disputes from the primaries. The outcome of this meeting will likely affect the party's plans for the 2027 elections.