Human rights activist and former FCT Senate aspirant of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Aisha Yesufu, has alleged that the party’s primary election process was manipulated to deny her the ticket.
Yesufu, who recently joined the NDC from the ADC and declared interest in the FCT Senate race, said she entered the contest to win but was disappointed by what she described as a flawed and unjust process.
Speaking on Friday, the activist claimed that what was presented as a primary election had a predetermined outcome, alleging that party guidelines and provisions of the Electoral Act were ignored.
“I ran to win. But when the process was subverted, I made a choice not to exhaust myself in a grievance process designed to wear people down,” she said.
According to her, the primary election witnessed repeated postponements and last-minute venue changes, while the process was allegedly taken away from delegates and concluded behind closed doors.
She claimed that a delegate-based system was introduced instead of direct primaries and that the eventual decision was reached through what she called a “clandestine affirmation” rather than an open contest.
“Yes, the party may issue statements saying the process was free and fair, but what transpired did not reflect justice and fairness,” she said.
Despite her disappointment, Yesufu urged her supporters to remain calm and focus on the broader political objective ahead of the 2027 general elections.
She said the experience had given her a deeper understanding of Nigeria’s political system and insisted that she would not compromise her values for political gain.
“I did not leave advocacy to go into politics. I took advocacy into politics,” she declared.
The activist, however, maintained that her comments reflected only her experience in the FCT Senate contest and should not be interpreted as a verdict on primaries conducted in other states.
The NDC had yet to officially respond to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
However, the party’s National Leader, Seriake Dickson, had earlier stated that no aspirant was being favoured and that all contestants would enjoy a level playing field during the primaries.
