Ex-lawmaker claims hijack of Imo NDC structure

Fresh crisis has erupted in the Imo State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress as a former member of the National Assembly, Uche Nwole, accused powerful interests within the party of hijacking its structure and manipulating the outcome of its primary elections.

Nwole raised the allegations on Tuesday in a petition submitted to the party’s national leadership in Abuja, warning that the development could undermine the NDC’s prospects ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The former lawmaker, who addressed journalists in Abuja, said he joined the NDC because of its vision, manifesto and leadership.

He also expressed confidence in the party’s presidential candidate, Dr. Peter Obi, describing him as a symbol of national renewal.

At the centre of his complaint is the conduct of the party’s primary elections in Imo State.

According to him, officials deployed from the party headquarters to supervise the exercise were allegedly prevented from carrying out their duties.

He said, “There was never any primary election supervised by the officers sent by the party to exercise such a function.

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

“We are in pain and request justice for the sake of our great party in the 2027 elections. Otherwise, it will be a disaster for the party in the State.”

Nwole further alleged that results generated from the disputed process were later set aside by the national leadership in favour of what he described as “parallel results.”

He said affected aspirants had formally petitioned the party’s leadership, seeking clarification on the legitimacy of the primary election results and the status of the party structure in the state.

“We urge the panel to disregard the purported and or forged results of the primaries paraded by the electoral Panel as there was never a primary election by them.

“The party leaders are advised to evaluate the aspirants, consider financial capacity, experiences, and personal capacity to face the Imo APC government headed by the chairman of the Governor’s Forum,” he stated.

The allegations come amid growing uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the NDC’s nationwide primaries, with several contestants across the country contesting the results and demanding reviews.

When contacted, the party leadership acknowledged that it was facing serious challenges in parts of the South-East, particularly in Imo and Abia states.

NDC Deputy National Spokesman, Abdulmumin Abdulsalam, admitted that the party had received multiple complaints from the region and was taking time to verify the authenticity of results submitted from affected states.

He said, “You can see that we have been taking our time in arriving at the results coming in from around the country. We have been collating all the results for the past four days now.

“We particularly have a challenge in the South-East. Other ones are actually okay. There is not much rancour, no infighting, factionalization or accusation of structural hijacking and all that. But what we have in the South-East is very unfortunate.

“We are inundated with a lot of crises from the region, especially in Imo and Abia States. In some cases, you will see of factional chairmen and party structures flying around. In some states, two or three different primaries were conducted by two or three different factions.”

The NDC image maker, however, assured that the party leaders are striving hard to correct the anomaly.

“We are taking our time to make sure that we don’t mix up fake results with the valid ones. They have been very open and forthcoming with the valid and approved results to make sure that we don’t make mistakes.

“We are aware some forces have infiltrated our party in the South-East just to make sure that they undermine the mission of Peter Obi. They are trying to see how they can create confusion by bringing fake results to us here.

“But then, we are equal to the task and we are on top of the game. All these issues will be brought to the fore and deliberated upon. Far-reaching decisions will be taken at the NEC meeting tomorrow,” he assured.

The NDC admission comes barely days after it distanced itself from several primary election results circulating on social media, insisting that only the National Executive Council is authorised to announce official outcomes.

The party had also disclosed that its NEC would meet to review reports from across the country and address disputes arising from the primary elections.

With allegations of parallel primaries, factional structures and infiltration now surfacing in the South-East, the outcome of the NEC meeting is expected to determine the fate of several aspirants and shape the party’s preparations for the 2027 polls.