Several aggrieved aspirants of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) have alleged widespread irregularities in its recent primary elections and called for the cancellation of the exercise for a fresh one to be conducted.
One of them is Hon. Godwin Echezona Ezeoke, an aspirant for the House of Representatives seat in Ojo Federal Constituency. Ezeoke said he had formally petitioned the Lagos State leadership of the NDC and copied the party’s national headquarters, alleging serious irregularities in the conduct of the primary.
In a letter dated 29th May, 2026, Ezeoke called for the disqualification of Hon. Oluwaseyi Ayopo Sowunmi, accusing him of hijacking the electoral process and preventing the primary election from taking place.
According to Ezeoke, the election was scheduled to be held in two constituencies, each with its own venue and electoral committee. He alleged that despite the arrangements, voters from both constituencies were directed to converge at a single venue, contrary to the original plan.
He further claimed that aspirants and supporters arrived at the venue as early as 9am but were left waiting for hours without any sign of the electoral committee.
“I contacted the committee chairman for Constituency I around noon and was informed that he had not arrived at the venue, despite voters and aspirants already being present and ready for the election,” Ezeoke stated in the petition.
He also alleged that members of the electoral committee and local government party executives had been compromised financially and that the process had effectively been taken over by Sowunmi.
He subsequently urged the Lagos State Chairman, the State Electoral Appeal Committee, the National Electoral Appeal Committee and the National Organising Secretary of the party to disqualify Sowunmi and order a fresh primary election.
Another aspirant, Hon. Ifeanyi Bestie Cindo Okparaugo, alleged that no election took place, claiming that while people were queuing at the venue, there were no visible electoral officials supervising the process.
He further alleged that no INEC officials were present when the purported election was held.
Similarly, Hon. Ola Ogunlana challenged claims that a valid primary election took place, insisting that there was no evidence of any voting process.
“If they say a primary election was conducted, they should provide visual evidence because there was nothing that resembled an election,” Ogunlana said.
He added that he remained at the venue until approximately 4.34pm on the scheduled date and did not witness any electoral activity before leaving.
The disputed primary was originally scheduled for 28th May, 2026, but was postponed by a day due to the Eid-el-Kabir public holiday.
