Imo NDC Primaries Under Fire as Aspirants Petition Party Leadership

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is facing internal turmoil after allegations of irregularities and undue influence marred its recently concluded primaries in Imo State.

At the centre of the controversy is former federal lawmaker Uche Nwole, who has accused powerful actors within the party of manipulating the process and undermining internal democracy ahead of the 2027 elections.

Addressing reporters in Abuja, Nwole said concerns about the state of Nigeria’s democracy and the need to defend transparent political processes motivated his return to active politics.

The former representative of Mbaitoli/Ikeduru Federal Constituency, who served between 1999 and 2003, noted that he joined the NDC because of its vision and leadership, while expressing confidence in the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Despite this, he alleged that vested interests had compromised the conduct of the primaries in Imo State by attempting to impose candidates and dominate party structures.

According to Nwole, a national headquarters panel led by Chief Babatunde Are and assigned to supervise the primaries failed to effectively carry out its mandate.

He alleged that the panel was influenced by a leading stakeholder and did not properly oversee the exercise, resulting in procedural irregularities.

Nwole claimed that while aspirants and party members gathered for the exercise, members of the supervisory panel were absent from designated venues, forcing local government officials to conduct and collate results.

He further alleged that those results were later discarded at the national level and replaced with what he described as “parallel results.”

The former lawmaker warned against what he called the growing dominance of a single individual within the party’s affairs in Imo State, arguing that such a trend could damage the NDC’s image and electoral prospects.

“We cannot allow democracy to be hijacked by any individual. Political parties must remain institutions governed by rules and collective decisions, not personal interests,” Nwole stated.

He revealed that he and several other aspirants had formally petitioned the party leadership, requesting a review of the primary election process and clarification regarding the legitimacy of the declared results.

The petitioners called for a thorough investigation into the conduct of the exercise, insisting that due process and transparency must be upheld.

Nwole warned that unresolved grievances could erode public confidence in the party’s democratic credentials and weaken its standing ahead of the 2027 polls.

According to the petition, there was no properly supervised primary election in Imo State as officials from the national headquarters allegedly failed to conduct the exercise.

The petition further claimed that local party executives took charge of the process in the absence of the designated supervisory panel, resulting in contested outcomes and parallel submissions to the national secretariat.

The stakeholders urged the party leadership to verify allegations of structural control within the state chapter and ensure that all candidates emerge through a transparent and credible process.

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