A cleric and businessman, Okwudili Ossai, has sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) over the alleged substitution of his name on the NDC’s Enugu North District ticket for the forthcoming 2027 general elections.
Ossai, otherwise known as Bishop Oscar, is challenging the uploading of Asadu’s name to the INEC portal as the Enugu North District candidate for the 2027 election.
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The entrepreneur filed the suit on 5 August at the Federal High Court in Abuja through his legal team led by F. M. Nworah, according to a court document seen by PREMIUM TIMES.
Apart from INEC (1st defendant) and NDC (2nd), Asadu was listed as the third defendant in the suit.
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Ossai told the court that he participated in the NDC’s primary election held on 29 May, emerged with the highest number of votes and was subsequently recognised as the winner.
The plaintiff said he only discovered the alleged substitution after obtaining a Certified True Copy of the candidate’s information uploaded to INEC on 23 July, which recognised Mr Asadu as the party’s candidate for the district.
Mr Ossai asked the court to determine whether, having regard to the provisions of the laws of the NDC and Nigeria, including the Electoral Act 2026 and the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended, INEC can accept and publish the name of any candidate other than the person who emerged with the highest number of votes at the party’s 29 May primary.
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The plaintiff further asked the court to determine whether NDC officials could lawfully submit another aspirant’s name after his (Mr Ossai’s) emergence as the primary winner.
Prayers
Apart from the questions for determination, Mr Ossai prayed the court to declare that he is the lawful and proper candidate of the NDC for Enugu North District, having participated in all stages of the primary and emerged with the highest number of votes.
He asked the court to order the NDC to submit his nomination documents, including the relevant electoral forms, to INEC for upload and publication as the party’s candidate for the district.
The plaintiff also appealed to the court to issue an order setting aside what he termed as the purported submission and uploading of Mr Asadu’s name and nomination documents for the Enugu North District seat.
He further prayed the court to restrain the defendants from recognising or dealing with Mr Asadu, or any other person, as the NDC candidate for Enugu North District pending the determination of the suit.
‘NDC previously affirmed my candidacy’
Mr Ossai recalled that an NDC aspirant, Vincent Obetta, had filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja challenging his emergence from the party’s 29 May senatorial primary for the district.
He said, in its counter-affidavit at the time, the NDC maintained that he (Mr Ossai) won the primary after participating in all stages of the process and securing the highest number of valid votes.
According to him, the NDC had told the court that its primary was duly organised and supervised by its National Working Committee through a duly constituted electoral committee, in accordance with the party’s constitution, electoral guidelines and the Electoral Act 2026.
Mr Ossai maintained that the NDC urged the court to dismiss or strike out the suit, insisting that he (Mr Ossai) emerged from the validly conducted primary and remained its legitimate candidate for Enugu North District.
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The plaintiff said that, to support his claim, he has attached documents from the previous court matter, including the NDC’s affidavit affirming his candidacy at the time.
Seven days for appearance
PREMIUM TIMES obtained a copy of the originating summons dated 5 August 2026.
In the originating summons, the court directed the defendants to enter an appearance within seven days, beginning from the day of service of the summons.
The court equally reminded the defendants that they are required under the 2026 Practice Direction to file their counter-affidavit within 10 days.
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