On Friday, May 29, 2026, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) conducted its primary elections for the Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency. The exercise was held concurrently with the Gubernatorial, Senatorial and State House of Assembly primaries.
The primary election, conducted across the two Local Government Areas that make up the federal constituency, witnessed a heavy turnout of party members, where voting began at 2:00 PM.
Due to disagreements among the four aspirants on a common venue, the Electoral Officer exercised their authority to designate separate polling locations for each LGA.
The process was supervised by the Electoral Officer and Returning Officer, Mr. William Okon for Calabar Municipal and Hon. Ani Ekpenyong and Etinyin Bassey Duke as electoral officer for Odukpani LGA, and were on ground throughout the exercise.
RESULTS BREAKDOWN
Calabar Municipal LGA:
1. Ankot Cobham: 280 votes
2. Ikpeme Edim Edim: 1 vote
3. Ene Clement Asuquo: 1 vote
4. Ekpo Christopher Edet: 1 vote
Odukpani LGA:
1. Ankot Cobham: 74 votes
2. Ikpeme Edim Edim: 0 votes
3. Ene Clement Asuquo: 0 votes
4. Ekpo Christopher Edet: 2 votes
OVERALL TOTAL:
1. Ankot Cobham: 354 votes
2. Ikpeme Edim Edim: 1 vote
3. Ene Clement Asuquo: 1 vote
4. Ekpo Christopher Edet: 3 votes
Party faithful in both LGAs celebrated the outcome, describing the victory as a reflection of strong grassroots support for Ankot Cobham.
The primary election was generally peaceful, with no incidents reported.
In line with directives from the national leadership of the party, the Electoral Officer refrained from announcing the results at the venue.
However, observers confirmed that the official result sheets were properly signed by all relevant officials.
The national secretariat is expected to make a formal announcement in due course.
The successful conduct of the primaries, alongside those for Governor, Senator and State House of Assembly positions in Calabar Municipal and Odukpani, has been hailed as a demonstration of the NDC’s commitment to internal democracy in Cross River State.
Ankot Cobham’s dominant performance positions him as the party’s flag bearer for the 2027 general elections in the Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Federal Constituency.
