Hon. Ejaife Omizu Odebala has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to be declared the winner of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship primary in Delta State.
In the action marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1636/2026 and dated July 29, 2026, Odebala is asking the court to recognise him as the party’s legitimate candidate for the 2027 Delta State governorship election. He argues that he polled the highest number of votes in the primary held on May 29, 2026. His legal team is led by Fredricks Itula, SAN.
The plaintiff named Chris Iyavwoye as the first defendant, alongside the NDC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Alice Ogba, Hon. Francis Atanomeyovwi and Ogbo Johnson.
Odebala is seeking several declarations. These include a ruling that, having secured the highest votes (including those from Ughelli North, Okpe and Isoko North local government areas as collated and declared by the fourth, fifth and sixth defendants), the NDC is barred from submitting any other name, including Iyavwoye’s to INEC as its flagbearer. He also wants the court to hold that neither the NDC nor INEC can lawfully rely on any results other than those announced by the party’s returning officers at the local government level on May 29, 2026.
Further reliefs sought include an order restraining Iyavwoye from presenting himself as the NDC candidate, a directive compelling the NDC and INEC to replace any already submitted name with Odebala’s, and an order requiring the party to issue him the necessary nomination, expression of interest and Form EC9 documents and to upload them on the INEC portal.
In his supporting affidavit, Odebala stated that he was a cleared aspirant and that the primary was successfully conducted in 24 of Delta’s 25 local government areas. Results were collated at the local government level, but no final state-level collation took place and no final results were submitted by the NDC to INEC on the day of the primary. After obtaining certified true copies of the local government results and INEC’s monitoring report through his lawyer, he discovered that the figures from Ughelli North, Okpe and Isoko North had been excluded. He maintains that a proper collation would give him 15,454 votes against Iyavwoye’s 12,015.
His counsel submitted that Odebala would be greatly prejudiced if INEC were to recognise Iyavwoye as the NDC candidate, and urged the court to grant the reliefs sought.
The case is scheduled to continue before Justice Obiora Egwuatu on September 7, 2026.
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