The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has denied imposing candidates on constituencies in its recently conducted primary election.

This is contained in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Osa Director, on Thursday.

Director said every aspirant who approached the party was received, attended to, and directed to engage with the appropriate caucus leaders, stakeholders, and grassroots members of the party in their respective states.

He stated that the party operates under an established stakeholder leadership structure which has caucus heads in all states of the federation.

According to him, the NDC believes in the principles of leadership, consultation, inclusiveness, and consensus-building.

Hereiterated the party’s commitment to encouraging and supporting female participation in elective offices, and has done so in some cases.

“At no time has the NDC National Secretariat been involved in the business of picking, choosing, or imposing candidates on any constituency or state.

“We are aware of reports of some aspirants prematurely declaring themselves as candidates, as well as complaints raised by others regarding aspects of the process.

“These issues have been brought to the attention of the appeal panel and the leadership of the party and have been addressed accordingly,” the statement partly read.

Accord has condemned the assassination attempt on its Osogbo Local Government Area Chairman, Asimiyu Ajibola, insisting it was a politically motivated attack.

The party further demands for a high-powered investigation by the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services to find the masterminds of the dastardly act and bring them to book.

The Osun State ruling party said it was grateful to the Almighty for preserving the life of the party Chairman while praying for quick recovery for him.

Two gunmen were said to have fired on a Toyota Corolla conveying the party Chairman and his associates in the MDS area of Osogbo on Wednesday night, 3rd June 2026, leading to gunshots wounds.

He was rushed to the University Teaching Hospital Osun State where doctors are battling to save his life.

The party condemned attacks on its members ahead of the 12th August 2026, governorship election in the state, saying it is outrageous, barbaric, despicable and wicked.

Accord, in a statement signed by its National Chairman, Barrester Maxwell Mgbudem, noted that in the recent past, its members have been victims of political violence in Osun State.

“Thugs associated with the opposition All Progressives Congress in the state have severally attacked Accord, Imole Campaign and public properties including billboards and party secretariat in attempt to harass, intimidate and subdue our members aware that the people have rejected their party,” Accord said.

“Sadly, security agencies where notified of the plots with a view to averting them, yet they were executed under their watch, and nobody has been prosecuted for these heinous crimes.

“Enough is enough of this political violence. It is obvious that the ballot is stronger than the gun.”

Accord said it abhors political bitterness in all its ramifications and has been promoting issue-based politics and campaign ahead of the upcoming gubernatorial election.

It added, “Let it be clear that our great party will not be cowed, intimidated and suppressed by anti-democratic and reactionary forces in Osun State.

“Osun State is an Accord stronghold with a pro-people Governor who has transformed the state and delivered dividends of democracy to citizens. He deserves a second term in office. The good people of Osun State are in one accord with Governor Ademola Adeleke.

“Together, Osun State will be taken to a new level of development and prosperity.”

Former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Sam Amadi, has criticised the conduct of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, primary elections, describing them as poorly organised and heavily rigged.

In a post on X on Thursday, Amadi said the NDC’s primaries were the weakest among the major political parties that recently conducted internal elections ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to him, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, also conducted flawed primaries, but the African Democratic Congress, ADC, was comparatively better organised despite alleged irregularities.

He ranked ADC first in terms of organisation, APC second and NDC last, while maintaining that all three parties conducted heavily manipulated primaries.

Amadi argued that it was difficult to achieve credible primaries under the prevailing political environment and timelines, adding that the NDC’s performance could partly be attributed to the short period available for preparations.

Amadi wrote: “@NigeriaNDCHQ had bad primaries. Nothing special about it. @OfficialAPCNg primaries were similarly horrible.

“@ADCNig is the only major party that had a ‘well-organized’ primary. But it was similarly rigged. ‘Well-organized’ means ‘better coordinated’, ‘well-structured’. It does not mean ‘free and fair’.

“So, the verdict remains the same: ADC comes first and APC second on organization. NDC comes last. But, all had very rigged primaries. It is almost impossible to have ‘free and fair’ primaries under the current regime and timelines.

“NDC has done relatively better than other parties considering it had shorter time to do much. it could have done better with its primaries but many greedy and poor people in Nigerian politics. It has to step up now if it wants to be taken as Nigeria’s main opposition.”