Abia state All Progressives Congress ( APC ) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC ) are  each claiming the membership of the Arochukwu/Ohafia candidate for the 2027 election whose name was given as  Mr Ifeanyi Elvis Ogbonna.

Ogbonna is said to have defected to the NDC from the APC after he failed to secure the candidature  of  the APC  for the Constituency seat in the House of Representatives ( HOR) , but  got  that of the NDC, and became its ( NDC  ) candidate for the same Arochukwu/Ohafia Constituency.

Perhaps, worried by this scenario, the APC has urged Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to review the said Mr Ifeanyi Elvis Ogbonna’s candidacy of  the  NDC  for the Ohafia/Arochukwu Federal Constituency for the 2027 election.

The state  APC in a press release by it’s Publicity Secretary Mr Uche Aguoru stated  that it considered  it necessary to draw the attention of the INEC to matters concerning Ogbonna’s membership and participation in the nomination processes of two political parties.

Aguoru stated “Mr. Ogbonna’s name is listed in the membership register of the APC that was  submitted to INEC on 10 May 2026, which was the deadline for the submission of membership registers by all political parties”.

He further stated that his APC  had/has no record of his resignation from the APC before the relevant deadline for the submission of party membership registers.

Aguoru added that the seeming  emergence of  Ogbonna  as the NDC candidate for the Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal Constituency election raises fundamental questions requiring clarification by the INEC  on how Mr. Ogbonna emerged as a candidate of another political party during the same electoral cycle.

According to Aguoru, the APC, is  mindful of Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2026  that governs the nomination of candidates by political parties and the conduct of party primaries, and that the Act gives INEC powers to monitor political-party activities and seek clarification where necessary.

Arguing that the Electoral Act 2026 has the power to regulate political-party membership and nomination, particularly  Section 77, which according to the APC, required  every registered political party to maintain a digital register of its members.

 Specifically,  APC stated  that  Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2026 governs the nomination of candidates by political parties and the conduct of party primaries, and gives INEC powers to monitor political-party activities and seek clarification where necessary.

The APC therefore demanded that INEC establishes  ” from the official records in its custody, whether Mr. Ogbonna was qualified to participate in the primary election of another political party within the same election season while still a duly registered member of the APC, and whether his nomination by the NDC complied with the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2026, and applicable INEC regulations and guidelines”.

It  ( APC ) consequently urged  INEC to conduct the necessary verification and act accordingly in accordance with the law.

Reacting on Wednesday, the NDC state Publicity Secretary Mr  Emeka Luis Okoro in a press release marked  RE: IFEANYI ELVIS OGBONNA IS NOT YOUR MEMBER — NDC REPLIES APC” stated that  his NDC  attention was drawn  to the APC press release issued  by Aguoru  over the candidacy of the NDC  flag bearer for Ohafia/Arochukwu Federal Constituency, Hon. Ifeanyi Elvis Ogbonna.

Okoro stated that it was  quite unfortunate that the APC in Abia State has lost focus, arguing that  ” instead of channeling its  energy towards reshaping its  battered image  and its questionable candidates, the Party has chosen to live, sleep and wake with the NDC”

According to the  Abia state NDC Spokesman ( Okoro ), the people of Abia are not even interested in the APC as a party because “APC is down already and is only looking for who to drag along in its sinking boat”.

NDC asserted  for the avoidance of doubt that  ” Hon. Ifeanyi Elvis Ogbonna stated clearly that he has left the APC for good,  that his  resignation of his membership of the APC from his Ward in May 5th, 2026, ended all dealings with the APC as a party, and thus,  made his intention known”.

According to the said  NDC Press Release, candidate Ogbonna’s resignation on May 5th, 2026 does not mean he is bound to the APC forever., stressing that  Party membership is not by compulsion.

Candidate Ogbonna, it was stated in the press release , “duly partook in the membership registration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and was cleared in early May, before the INEC deadline of May 10th for submission of party membership registers”.

Pointing out that it should be that  clearance that is  what qualified him ( candidate Ogbonna ) to emerge as the NDC  candidate, NDC stated categorically that Hon. Ifeanyi Elvis Ogbonna is NOT a member of the All Progressives Congress in Abia State, but  is a full, card-carrying and duly registered member of the NDC.

Tasking APC  to  focus on building and marketing of  its  own Federal Constituency candidate for Ohafia/Arochukwu, instead of witch-hunting the NDC  candidate for over a week now, the  NDC Spokesman ( Okoro ) vowed that such  distraction will not work. ” We refuse to be dragged into it,  we are on a mission to the Promised Land and we will not be distracted.

” Hon. Ifeanyi Elvis Ogbonna remains the valid and highly marketable candidate of the NDC for Ohafia/Arochukwu Federal Constituency, with a 99% chance of victory at the polls”.

Also the state NDC Chairman Chief Ako Atulomah in his reaction described the APC complaint as rabble-rousing and poke-nosing into other people’s matter.

According to him, ” the APC is an interloper, distracting the NDC. This is a pre-election matter, so  let the APC  rush to the court and  sort themselves out”.

The APC however maintained its believe  that ” questions concerning the eligibility and nomination of Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Elvis Ogbonna as the candidate of the NDC should be reviewed in line with the Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC regulations, and verifiable documentary records”