A chieftain of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Chief Asukewe Ikoawaji, has defended the party’s recently concluded primary elections, insisting that the exercise was conducted in line with established party guidelines despite criticism from some aspirants and stakeholders.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE News, Ikoawaji dismissed allegations of irregularities, maintaining that due process was followed from the screening stage through to the conduct of the primaries.
“NDC primaries were conducted properly,” he said.
He explained that party officials were fully involved in supervising the exercise to ensure transparency and fairness at every stage.
According to him, he personally participated in the process, both as a member of the screening committee and as chairman of the electoral committee in Abia State.
“I was a member of the screening committee,” he stated.
He added that the party adopted what he described as a new approach by holding its primaries before requiring successful aspirants to purchase nomination forms, a method he said was designed to improve credibility and reduce malpractice.
“This is the first time a political party is going into primaries without selling nomination forms,” he said.
Ikoawaji said the decision was informed by lessons from past electoral experiences and was aimed at strengthening internal democracy.
“We are learning from the lessons of the past,” he added.
He dismissed claims of manipulation, arguing that those raising concerns were misrepresenting the process and attempting to discredit the party’s efforts.
“The primaries went very well,” he said.
He further alleged that some of the critics were acting in bad faith.
“Most of the people making this noise were sent to destroy what NDC is doing,” he stated.
On the role of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ikoawaji criticised some officials, accusing them of going beyond their supervisory mandate during the exercise.
“INEC’s job is to supervise, not to be an umpire,” he said.
Despite the controversy, he maintained that the party remains united and is actively addressing grievances raised by dissatisfied members across various states.
He said reconciliation efforts were already underway to restore unity ahead of future elections.
“The party has already started putting machinery in place to address these issues,” he said.
Ikoawaji expressed confidence that internal disputes would soon be resolved.
“In no distant time, all these things will be properly handled,” he added.
He concluded that the NDC primaries were conducted in accordance with party rules and reaffirmed the party’s commitment to resolving post-primary tensions while preparing to release its final list of candidates.
