A former presidential aide, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, has described the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) as a party destined to fail following a recent revelation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to Obono-Obla, INEC’s displayed provisional governorship candidates by August 31, field checks confirmed NDC has no candidate in 11 states.
Obono-Obla listed the 11 states to have 233 local government areas put together and they include: Cross River – 18 LGAs, Borno – 27 LGAs, Ebonyi – 13 LGAs, Katsina – 34 LGAs, Kebbi – 21 LGAs, Niger – 25 LGAs, Plateau – 17 LGAs, Taraba – 16 LGAs, Yobe – 17 LGAs, Zamfara – 14 LGAs and Akwa Ibom – 31 LGAs.
According to him, total of 233 LGAs = 30.1% of Nigeria’s 774 LGAs have no NDC governorship structure, not minding that on the 15th of January, 2027 three elections hold same day, same polling unit, same time:
“Presidential Election, Senate Election – 109 seats, House of Representatives Election – 360 seats, Total 470 contests and NDC filed only 70% of National Assembly = ∼328 of 469. About 141 Federal Constituencies will have NO NDC House logo on Jan 15, even though presidential logo is there.”
He said that this matters because, “no House candidate = no ballot driver. In Nigeria, the House member brings voters to PU. No House = voters stay home, even for President.
“No Agent = No Protection. House agent collects presidential EC8A. 141 constituencies blank = ∼14,100 PUs with no NDC agent. 233 LGAs with no guber = ∼35,000 PUs unprotected.
“25% Spread: To win President, you need 25% in 24 states. With 11 states having no structure (233 LGAs), you must get 25% in states where you have no coordinators.”
He said that according to Electoral Act 2022 Section 33: “A political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted under section 29, except in case of death or withdrawal.”
The renowned lawyer said that according to Section 34(1): “No further withdrawal or replacement will be allowed except in event of death or pursuant to court order.”
He earned that NDC cannot do fresh primaries to fill empty slots after deadline (July 14 for NASS, Aug 8 for guber).
He stressed that the 11 governorship and 141 NASS vacancies are permanent, unless court proves INEC portal glitch (as alleged in Anambra).
“NDC enters the triple election of Jan 15, 2027 with 233 LGAs (30.1% of Nigeria) and 141 Federal Constituencies blank.
“The failure of 2026 filing cannot be cured by substitution. It will cost 4-6 million votes on Jan 15 – not from lack of popularity, but from lack of ballot presence and agent coverage.”
