Ekiti: Confusion As NDC Candidate’s Name Goes Missing From INEC List

Confusion has emerged within the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Ekiti State after the name of its publicly announced candidate for the Ekiti South Senatorial District, Dr Ayodele Ayokunle Olusegun, was not included in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) final list for the 2027 elections.

Olusegun has petitioned the national leadership of the party, demanding an immediate investigation into the omission and a detailed explanation of what happened to his candidature during the nomination and submission process.

In the petition dated September 13, 2026, and addressed to the NDC National Secretary, Olusegun said the party had previously confirmed his candidacy and publicly presented him as its candidate for the senatorial district.

He also referred to media reports published on September 3 which, according to him, further confirmed his status as the party’s candidate. He maintained that he had completed the required nomination process and that his relevant documents were processed for submission to INEC.

Olusegun is seeking documentary evidence showing when his nomination forms were received by the national secretariat, the officials who handled them and when they were forwarded to INEC.

He also wants the party to provide records of any upload made on the INEC portal and explain whether his candidature was withdrawn, substituted or altered at any stage of the process.

The petitioner raised 16 questions concerning the disappearance of his name from the final list. Among them is whether the NDC submitted his name to INEC as its candidate, whether another person was presented in his place and whether any court order or internal party decision authorised a change.

He argued that the discrepancy raises questions about the party’s handling of its nomination process, compliance with electoral requirements and the circumstances surrounding the eventual omission of his name.

Olusegun has also called for the preservation of all records connected to his candidature, including nomination documents, payment receipts, electronic portal records and correspondence between the party and INEC.

He said the documents could become necessary if the matter leads to administrative action, an electoral dispute or court proceedings.

The candidate further stated that the available sequence of events showed that his candidature was affirmed by the party, publicly announced and processed through the nomination procedure, yet his name was absent from the final INEC list.

He is therefore asking the NDC leadership to establish what happened to his candidature and the accompanying statutory documents after they were transferred from the Ekiti State chapter to the national secretariat and the INEC submission process.

Copies of the petition were also sent to the NDC National Leader, the National Vice-Chairmen for the South and South-West, the South-West Chairman of Chairmen and the Ekiti State Chairman.