By Okoi Obono-Obla
I have read the infantile press release issued by Mr. Osa Director, Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), in which he claimed that the party has “placeholders” in Katsina, Niger and other states.
With respect, that defence is legally illiterate and politically dishonest.
1. On the Law: There is nothing like “placeholder” in the Electoral Act 2026
As a lawyer, let me educate the NDC. The Electoral Act 2026 knows nothing called placeholder. INEC itself has repeatedly said “placeholder is a unique Nigerian invention for which there is no provision in law.”
Under Section 29(1) of the Act, parties must submit the list of candidates they propose to sponsor not later than 120 days to election. Under Section 31, a candidate may only withdraw not later than 90 days to election. Under Section 33, substitution is allowed ONLY on death or voluntary withdrawal supported by a sworn affidavit.
If NDC uploaded any name, that person is in law its substantive candidate. He can only be removed if he personally swears an affidavit to withdraw. INEC cannot and will not wait for NDC to “find” a real candidate later.
If INEC’s portal as at August 29-31, 2026 shows blank for Cross River, Borno, Ebonyi, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Plateau, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and Akwa Ibom — 233 LGAs representing 30.1% of Nigeria — then NDC filed nobody. That failure cannot be cured by propaganda. You cannot mobilize agents, you cannot have polling unit coordinators, you cannot score 25% in 24 states with 233 LGAs blank.
2. On Cross River: Picking John Upan Odey from Obudu is a Political Joke and an Insult
Even if we assume arguendo that NDC has a candidate in Cross River State, the choice of John Upan Odey from Obudu LGA in the Northern Senatorial District is dead upon arrival.
This shows how disconnected NDC is from Cross River realities.
Since 1999, Cross River has operated an inviolate, just and equitable zoning arrangement:
1999-2007: Donald Duke (South)
2007-2015: Liyel Imoke (Central)
2015-2023: Prof. Ben Ayade (North)
In 2023, all well-meaning Cross Riverians agreed that power must return to the South for two terms to complete the cycle of justice and equity. That is why Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu of the APC from the South is Governor today.
This arrangement is not new. It is historically rooted in the Calabar Accord of 1980, a solemn pact between the leaders of Calabar (South) and Ogoja (North) that power must rotate for peace, inclusion and brotherhood.
For NDC to pick John Odey from Obudu — the same LGA as the immediate past Governor Ben Ayade who just completed 8 years for the North (2015-2023) — is to spit on the face of Cross River people. It is insensitive, provocative and politically suicidal.
The people of Cross River State will not tolerate it. They will vent their wrath on NDC at the polls for disrespecting their collective patrimony and political consensus.
NDC should stop deceiving itself. You cannot win President on January 15, 2027 with no presence in 11 states, and you cannot win Cross River by violating its most sacred political covenant.
