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By Chukwudi Abiandu

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has refuted reports alleging that the party does not have governorship candidates in 12 states ahead of the 2027 elections, describing the reports as false and politically motivated.

In a press statement issued on Saturday, September 5, 2026, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, Esq., declared that the NDC has duly nominated governorship candidates in all 28 states where governorship elections are expected to take place in 2027.

The NDC said it was responding to what it described as false information circulating in sections of the media and on social media concerning its preparedness for the elections.

According to the party, the reports alleging that it lacked governorship candidates in 12 states were “false, malicious” and intended to undermine its growing political momentum nationwide.

The party further claimed that it has structures, candidates and supporters across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, and maintained that it is a national rather than regional political movement.

NDC Names 12 Candidates

To support its position, the NDC released what it identified as the names of its governorship candidates in the 12 states it said had been wrongly listed as states where the party had no candidates.

The names provided by the party are:

• Zamfara: Senator Kabiru Marafa
• Borno: Rtd. Rear Admiral Ibrahim Sanusi Kasim
• Cross River: Hon. John Odey
• Akwa Ibom: Babanta Michael Okon
• Ebonyi: Nwofe Boniface
• Plateau: Yakubu Solomon Ndam
• Katsina: Ilu-Barde Aliyu
• Kebbi: Alhaji Umar Usman Besse
• Yobe: Jonga Yahaya Gabakau
• Jigawa: Dutse Aminu Sani
• Taraba: Prof. Yahaya Mohammed Sani
• Niger: Abdu Sidi Bomi

The NDC said the list demonstrates that it is prepared to contest governorship elections in all 28 states where such elections are scheduled.

The party did not provide, in the statement, independent documentary evidence from the electoral authorities to substantiate its claim that all 12 individuals have been formally recognised as its governorship candidates.

Party Calls for Media Verification

The NDC also urged media organisations, journalists, bloggers and content creators to independently verify political information before publishing it.

The party argued that publishing what it regards as unverified claims could undermine public confidence in the media and the democratic process.

“Journalism thrives on truth, not rumors,” the NDC said.

The party also alleged that the reports were part of sponsored falsehoods aimed at distracting it, although it did not identify those it accused of sponsoring the alleged misinformation.

The NDC said it would instead focus on what it described as issue-based politics ahead of the 2027 elections.

NDC Projects Itself as Alternative

Looking ahead to 2027, the NDC claimed that Nigerians are dissatisfied with what it called the “old order” and “recycled failures.”

The party also described itself as the preferred political platform to “salvage Nigeria”, citing security, employment and accountability among the issues it said would form part of its political agenda.

According to the statement, the NDC claims to have credible candidates and a clear manifesto and says it intends to focus on security, job creation and accountability if elected.

“The rescue mission has started,” the party declared, while calling on Nigerians to join its movement.

The claims in this report regarding the NDC’s candidate list, nationwide structures, political support and electoral preparedness are based on the party’s September 5 statement and have not been independently verified in this report.