Sylvester Idowu in Warri
A governorship aspirant of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Usiwoghene Unuafe, has issued a formal pre-action notice demanding the immediate correction and withdrawal of the purported nomination or submission of Chief Great Ovdeje Ogboru as the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
Unaife, in a notice dated September 1, 2026, and addressed to the national chairman and National Working Committee of the ADC, as well as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanded recognition of his candidature, having lawfully emerged from the party’s Delta State governorship nomination process held on May 22, 2026.
The notice, according to the document made available to THISDAY, was received by the ADC National Chairman’s office on September 1, according to an acknowledgement stamp and handwritten notation.
In the document titled: ‘Formal Pre-Action Notice: Demand for Immediate Correction and Withdrawal of the Purported Nomination/Submission of Chief Great Ovdeje Ogboru as the ADC Candidate for Governor of Delta State and Demand for Recognition of Emmanuel Usiwoghene Unaife, Ph.D. as the Candidate Lawfully Emerging from the ADC Delta State Governorship Nomination Process of 22 May 2026’, Unaife said he was a duly screened, cleared and participating aspirant in the contest for the party’s governorship ticket.
He stated that he was issuing the notice to both the ADC leadership and INEC in connection with the process that produced the party’s candidate for the 2027 Delta State governorship election.
According to him, “I, Dr. Emmanuel Usiwoghene Unaife, a duly screened, cleared and participating aspirant for the Delta State governorship ticket of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) or ‘the Party’ for the 2027 governorship election, hereby issue this Formal Pre-Action Notice and Demand to the National Working Committee of the ADC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”The ADC aspirant stated that he was acting in his personal capacity and without legal representation at the stage of issuing the notice.
The development signals a fresh dispute over the ADC’s governorship nomination process in Delta State ahead of the 2027 general election, with Unaife seeking the withdrawal of Ogboru’s purported nomination and recognition of his own emergence from the May 22, 2026 process. The notice was copied to INEC at the commission’s headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.