The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is hosting its highly anticipated primary election today, May 29, 2026.
Barring any late-minute surprises, the party’s delegates are fully expected to officially ratify Obi as the NDC presidential candidate for 2027 during the primary election.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass gathered that delegates have already been arriving in Abuja ahead of the exercise.
Having already been screened and cleared last week by a 17-member panel led by Senator Sam Egwu, Obi enters today’s convention as the sole presidential aspirant.
This comes after Obi and former Governor of Kano state Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso formally collapsed their political structures and joined the NDC earlier this month.
The party also stated that governorship, National Assembly, and state House of Assembly candidates would emerge across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, despite logistical disruptions caused by the Eid-el-Kabir holidays.
Meanwhile, the NDC National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday had lamented that transportation challenges and flight unavailability delayed some preparatory activities after the screening exercise in the FCT.
According to the statement, May 28 (Thursday) was for arrivals, documentation with the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies, consultative meetings, and other preparatory activities ahead of the primaries.
The national chairman said party teams deployed to the states were also expected to use the day for engagements with stakeholders, elders, and aspirants.
Cleopas, however, warned that no state institution or security agency, including the police, Department of State Service, and INEC, is expected to participate in any of the May 28 activities.
It added that any action outside the approved guidelines would be considered illegal and unauthorised.
He said, “The primaries are still scheduled to be held nationwide on May 29, 2026, in keeping with the original May 28 and 29 timetable.
“However, in view of the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations and the resulting public holidays, major transportation and logistical challenges have arisen, including the non-availability of flights.
“Consequently, many aspirants who were in Abuja for the screening exercise, as well as members of the screening team, are currently stranded in Abuja.”
Cleopas outlined the sequence for the May 29 exercises as presidential affirmation, National Assembly primaries or affirmations, state Assembly primaries or affirmations, and governorship primaries or affirmations.
The party further directed that all results from the states must be collated and transmitted to the party’s national headquarters for announcement by the National Working Committee.
“The respective teams will collate and process all results and forward them to the national headquarters, where the National Working Committee will announce the results.
“No state executive or team has the mandate to announce any results,” the statement added.
The NDC chair also appealed to members and aspirants to remain peaceful and orderly throughout the exercise, stressing that the party would not tolerate violence, disorderly conduct, or hooliganism during the primaries.
If ratified as the presidential candidate of the NDC during the primary election, Obi will face competition from incumbent President Bola Tinubu who is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and potentially former President Goodluck Jonathan, who is set to be declared the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Kabiru Turaki.
