The National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced that the party has uploaded the name of its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) nomination portal.

The party leader disclosed this in a statement on Monday, saying the NDC had filed an appeal against a recent court ruling alongside an application for a stay of execution, which had been served on the INEC Chairman and the commission.

According to the statement, the party has also been granted access to the INEC portal to upload the names of its candidates in line with the electoral timetable.

“My name and that of the presidential candidate have been uploaded to the INEC portal, while that of the vice-presidential candidate will be done tomorrow upon completion of the deposition. The process is also ongoing for other candidates,” the statement read.

The NDC maintained that it remains a duly registered political party that has participated in all political processes so far, insisting that its primary elections had been conducted under the observation and monitoring of INEC.

It stated that the emergence of candidates for various elective offices had been completed and that what remained was the administrative process of submitting their names to the electoral commission.

The party noted that, in line with the INEC timetable, it has until July 11 to upload the names of its National Assembly candidates and until July 17 to submit those of governorship and State House of Assembly candidates.

The National Leader urged party members and supporters not to panic, expressing confidence that there was sufficient time to complete the submission of all candidates.

The statement also acknowledged disagreements that arose during the party’s primary elections but said reconciliation efforts had commenced to unite aspirants and stakeholders across the country.

The party assured unsuccessful aspirants that they would be accommodated in campaign structures, committees and other party activities, describing them as the grassroots strength of the NDC.

The National Leader congratulated all NDC candidates, members and supporters, while calling for the protection of Nigeria’s multi-party democracy.

The statement further commended INEC for what it described as professionalism in handling the party’s registration and other electoral processes, while urging the commission, the judiciary and security agencies to remain neutral in safeguarding the country’s democratic institutions.

According to the party, with the appeal and accompanying applications now before the courts, it expects the judiciary to determine the matter in accordance with the law. (Nigerian Tribune)

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