The recent upload of candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on its portal ahead of the 2027 general elections has sparked a fresh crisis in the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, with two aspirants laying claim to the party’s candidacy for the same elective position in Edo State.

DAILY POST reports that INEC had reportedly uploaded the photograph of Hon. Sunny Aguebor as the party’s candidate for Edo South Senatorial District on its portal.

The electoral commission was also reported to have uploaded the particulars of another aspirant, Mrs Epelle-Asemota Beigiditte Osayuki, alongside Hon. Aguebor’s photograph.

DAILY POST gathered that the development has created confusion among members and supporters of the party, as well as the two aspirants.

It was learnt that the development has further pitched both aspirants against each other over the party’s senatorial ticket, raising questions about who is the authentic NDC candidate for the Edo South contest.

When contacted, Hon. Aguebor insisted that he remained the only authentic candidate of the party for the Edo South senatorial election.

Aguebor, who described the discrepancy as an anomaly, alleged possible mischief or an error in the uploading of the candidate’s information.

He maintained that the party’s position on its candidate was clear, adding that the appearance of another aspirant’s name and particulars alongside his photograph on the INEC portal did not alter his status as the party’s candidate.

On her part, Mrs Asemota, whose name and particulars appeared on the document uploaded to the commission’s portal, declared that the matter was already being handled by the appropriate authorities.

According to her, “I am not really disposed to making comments on it now because the party is handling it and INEC is handling it as well. I will leave it at that.”

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has declared that the 2027 presidential election has already been concluded.

Sani assured that the North would give Tinubu at least 95 percent of the total vote in the 2027 presidential election.

He spoke during the flag off of 122km Kaduna-Birni Gwari road on Tuesday.

The governor noted that the people of Kaduna State are happy with Tinubu.

He said: “We have to be happy with what he has done for us and whether we like it or not, Kaduna is the capital of Northern Nigeria, everyone is proud of Kaduna.

“Kaduna’s development is a development for all the states of Northern Nigeria, so we are happy and grateful to the president for recognizing that Kaduna is the heart of Northern Nigeria.

“We will continue to support the president, I have no doubt in my mind that the 2027 election has been concluded, and we are given President Tinubu at least 95% of the total votes. There is no doubt about that and I stand to be challenged.

“The Western bypass is ongoing from the Abuja junction to the Kawu motorpark and that is also a construction undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Works under the able leadership of Tinubu.

“We are resuming the construction of Eastern bypass which is extremely very critical for our people, it will resume according to my conversation with the Minister in the next two weeks by the grace of God, so all these are things the president is doing for the people of Kaduna State.”

The governor maintained that Tinubu is doing what no past president has done in Northern Nigeria.

“About two weeks ago, I came out boldly and said no president in the history of Nigeria has done what Tinubu did for us here in Northern Nigeria and I challenge anyone to come up with anything contrary to what I have said.

“Tinubu has done a lot, only now my brother and friend, Masari stood here and mentioned most of the projects that Mr President is doing in Northern Nigerian; again, the Minister came up here and confirmed all those projects.

“Let me ask a question, why was it that other leaders were not doing what Tinubu is doing today for Northern Nigeria, was it that Northern Nigeria was not a priority or that was not their concern? We thank Tinubu for the love for the North and humanity,” he added.

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has described former Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi as a political liability, saying he has no electoral value in Rivers State or the South-South region.

Speaking during a media chat in Abuja on Tuesday, Wike questioned why anyone would choose Amaechi as a vice-presidential candidate.

He said, “If you are choosing a Vice Presidential candidate, a running mate, I’m sure the only factor that has been used to choose Rotimi Amaechi, may be financial because the former governor lacks the capacity to deliver votes.”

Wike argued that Amaechi had failed to deliver strong election results despite holding influential positions in different political campaigns.

He said, “He has never won a presidential election after 2011 when I was the Director of Campaign. Never. He was the Director-General of Buhari in 2015 when he was governor; why did he not get 25 per cent?”

He continued, “He was the DG in 2019 when he was a Super Minister; why did he not get 25 per cent? He supported Atiku in 2023; how come he didn’t get 15 per cent?”

The FCT minister also challenged Amaechi to show what benefits Rivers State and the South-South gained during his time in the Federal Government.

Wike further accused Amaechi of political inconsistency, saying he had criticised the APC primary process but later accepted its outcome.

He said, “This was the same man, just one month ago, who said the APC primary is manual, irregularity, and corruption.”

He added, “How can we talk about removing a government that we are saying there is no election, and then we are in another election? The same man now is benefiting from the corruption, from irregularities of the same system.”

Wike also recalled Amaechi’s opposition to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 re-election bid, saying the South-South would not easily forget those actions.

He asked, “A South-South person wanted to go for a second term. You were proud you kicked him out. Now, will South-South be happy for you to be Vice President? You think that people have forgotten?”

Highlighting his own achievements, Wike said Rivers State is receiving more federal attention than at any time since 1999, pointing to projects such as the Bonny Road.

He said, “Never in the history of Rivers State, from 1999, of those who claimed to be very close to the President, have we had the type of attention that Rivers State has now.”