Nigerian activist Aisha Yesufu has alleged that the primary election of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for Federal Capital Territory District was manipulated against her.
Ms Yesufu, an aspirant in the NDC’s senatorial primaries for the district held on Friday, made the allegation in a statement on Friday night.
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The activist, who is an ally of the NDC’s sole presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, joined the Senate race for the district in May after moving to the NDC from the African Democratic Congress.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that a female aspirant, Amanda Pam, won the NDC senatorial primaries for the district.
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‘How the exercise was manipulated’
Ms Yesufu claimed that the signs that the primaries would be manipulated were the repeated postponement of the exercise and change of venues even at the last minute.
“Guidelines of the party were not followed. Delegate based process was introduced to be conducted at a central location instead of the direct primaries to be conducted at local government headquarters.
“When the moment came, the contest was not decided by delegates in the open; it was affirmed in a closed room, away from the people whose voices it was supposed to reflect,” she said.
“What was billed as a primary was, in truth, a predetermined outcome dressed in procedural formalities.”
The activist turned politician argued that although the NDC leadership could issue statements to insist that the process was free and fair, their insistence would not reflect facts.
“The facts that transpired when litigated by conscience and the guidelines of the electoral act do not reflect justice and fairness,” she said.
‘Why I’ll not file petition’
Ms Yesufu said although the process was subverted, she would not file a petition because she has decided to learn from the experience.
The activist said, before now, she understood that the quality of Nigerian politics had not improved to the point where “values-based candidates” emerge by merit but she resolved to continue without compromising her values.
“I ran to win. But when the process was subverted, I made a choice: I would not exhaust myself in a grievance process designed to wear people down.
“I chose instead to extract every lesson this experience had to offer. I now understand the architecture of the system in ways no textbook, no punditry, no amount of outside observation could ever teach,” she stated.
The activist expressed gratitude to all her supporters whom she said helped to run a “people-powered campaign.”
Yesufu hails NDC despite loss
Ms Yesufu said she would not leave the NDC despite her loss in the party’s senatorial primaries.
She suggested that she would return to contest for the senatorial seat in 2031.
“This is not the end. A Better Abuja is inevitable. What we built, the network, the credibility, the grassroots trust, cannot be taken away in a backroom.
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The forces that tried to silence this movement have only confirmed its potency. I am not going anywhere. And neither is the idea that Abuja deserves better. For a better Abuja 2031 is born,” she said.
The activist stressed that the NDC remains the party that has the better presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 general election.
“For now, despite its shortcomings, the NDC remains the only party that has given the better presidential candidate in the 2027 electoral cycle a platform to run,” she said, apparently referring to Mr Obi.
“To everyone within the party working to make this possible, I am grateful. Transformation does not come from outside alone. It must also be fought for within,” she added.
