The Nigeria Democratic Congress has established a 20-member National Selection Committee to manage the screening and selection of aspirants for its forthcoming governorship and National Assembly primaries, as the party accelerates preparations for the 2027 electoral cycle.

The committee was approved by the party’s national leader following recommendations from the National Working Committee and is chaired by former senator Cleopas Moses Zuwoghe, with the party’s national secretary serving as committee secretary. Other members include Buba Galadima, Yinusa Tanko, Udenta Udenta, and Aminu Abdulsalam among others.

The committee’s mandate is to review and make final decisions on the outputs of the National Screening Committee, determining which aspirants are cleared to purchase nomination forms. Only aspirants who pass screening will be permitted to proceed to the forms stage, with the party describing the arrangement as part of its commitment to a free, fair, and credible candidate selection mechanism.

The party said consensus arrangements would be the preferred route for selecting candidates but confirmed that direct primaries would be conducted between May 28 and May 30, 2026, in any constituency where consensus could not be achieved.

The committee is expected to be formally inaugurated on May 25, 2026, and will begin deliberations immediately after. The party appealed to aspirants and stakeholders to cooperate with the leadership given the tight timeframe available to complete the exercise.