The National Democratic Congress has announced that it will conduct direct primaries across the country on May 28 and 29, 2026, as part of preparations for the forthcoming elections.
The decision was reached after what the party described as extensive deliberations involving the National Chairman, presidential aspirant Peter Obi, members of the National Working Committee, the Selection Committee, and the Screening Committee chaired by former governor Sam Egwu.
According to the party, the Screening Committee worked for nearly a week to process what it described as a “staggering number” of aspirants seeking to contest under the NDC platform nationwide.
The party expressed appreciation to all aspirants and supporters who purchased Expression of Interest Forms and made donations to the party, noting that the number of aspirants exceeded expectations.
Following a joint briefing by the Selection Committee and Screening Committee, the party resolved that all aspirants who purchased Expression of Interest Forms would be permitted to participate in the primaries in their respective constituencies due to time constraints.
It explained that only successful candidates would later report to the party secretariat for documentation, payment of nomination fees, and completion of other formalities.
The NDC also disclosed that teams made up of senior party officials had been deployed to states across the country to supervise the exercise in collaboration with local stakeholders and party leaders.
The party urged officials overseeing the primaries to ensure fairness and transparency, while also paying attention to women and youth aspirants with strong electoral prospects.
Reaffirming its commitment to peaceful elections, the NDC warned against violence, intimidation, and disorderly conduct during the primaries, stressing that anyone found engaging in such acts would face disciplinary action.
According to the guidelines released by the party, direct primaries for State Assembly positions will take place at constituency level, while affirmations for House of Representatives, Senate, governorship, and presidential positions will hold at various local government headquarters.
The party added that an Appeal Panel would be inaugurated to address complaints arising from the exercise, while final results would be announced at the party’s National Secretariat by the Selection Committee and the National Executive Committee.
The NDC acknowledged that the tight timeline made it impossible to fully deploy its planned electronic voting system for the primaries, noting that the current exercise would be conducted manually.
Party officials, however, assured aspirants that future primaries would be electronic to minimise complaints and logistical challenges.
The party called on aspirants, stakeholders, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and security agencies to work together to ensure a peaceful, credible, and transparent process.
