Imo Senatorial Candidate Nwachukwu Sues NDC Over Ticket Denial

A Senatorial Aspirant, Isaac Nwachukwu, has taken the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to a Federal High Court in Owerri, Imo State, over disputes arising from the party’s National Assembly primaries.

Through his counsel, Cajethan Oguzie, Nwachukwu alleges that the NDC denied him the Imo North senatorial ticket after he emerged as the consensus candidate and paid N5 million for the nomination form.

The suit also claims that Nwachukwu contributed N20 million to the party, yet the published list of supporters showed only N10 million attributed to him.

In his prayer before the court, the aspirant seeks a declaration that he is the consensus candidate of the NDC for the Imo North Senatorial Zone in the 2027 General election.

He requests that the court restrain the NDC from fielding any other candidate for the zone and that INEC be barred from recognizing or accepting any other candidate until the matter is resolved.

In an affidavit supporting the summons, Nwachukwu states that he purchased an expression‑of‑interest form to run for the Imo North senatorial seat, a copy of which is attached to the suit.

He further explains that after paying N20 million into the party’s FCMB account via his counsel, the funds were allegedly redirected to another aspirant, Matthew Omegara, while N10 million paid by Omegara was credited to Nwachukwu by the Screening Committee led by Sam Egwu and Buba Galadimma.

Nwachukwu claims that he complied with NDC directives, participated in the screening exercise, and was cleared as an aspirant for the primary election. He asserts that after his consensus candidacy was ratified, his name was listed as a candidate for Imo North, but was later substituted with Omegara’s name following the primary.

The aspirant also alleges that NDC national leader Seriake Dickson summoned him to a meeting, informing him that his candidacy was jeopardised after a party chieftain from his state claimed not to know him.

Among other requests, Nwachukwu seeks an order directing the NDC to issue him a certificate as its candidate for the Imo North Senatorial District.