Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A governorship aspirant of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in Kaduna State, Mr. Zariyi Yusuf Madaki, has formally petitioned the party's national leadership, rejecting what he described as a clandestine attempt by state and national executives to impose a governorship candidate without following due process. In a petition dated July 15, 2026, and addressed to the National Chairman of the NDC through the Kaduna State Chairman, Madaki urged the party to immediately halt any move to adopt or impose a candidate, warning that such actions could jeopardize the party's chances in Kaduna State ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Madaki recalled that the party's governorship primary, originally scheduled for May 29, 2026, was suspended after delegates and party officials failed to conduct the election or reach a consensus among the three cleared aspirants—Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Abdulkarim, Barr. Sani Abbas, and himself. According to him, members of the NDC Electoral Committee subsequently agreed that the name of the Kaduna State Chairman, Evangelist Mordecai Ibrahim, would serve only as a placeholder pending the conduct of another primary or the adoption of another agreed process for selecting the party's governorship candidate. He alleged that since the aborted primary, neither the state nor national leadership had convened a meeting with the three aspirants to determine the way forward.
Madaki further accused the Kaduna State Chairman of attempting to hand the party's nomination form to one of the aspirants, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulkarim, in June, an action he said he immediately protested. The governorship hopeful also expressed concern over separate actions by both the state and national leadership, alleging that the National Chairman publicly referred to Barr. Sani Abbas as the party's governorship candidate despite the absence of a valid primary election or consensus. He also questioned the emergence of former Senator Danjuma La'ah as what he described as a "fourth aspirant," arguing that La'ah was not among those cleared to participate in the May 29 governorship primary.
Madaki alleged that on July 11, 2026, the Kaduna State Chairman convened a meeting with some state executive members and announced the unanimous adoption of Senator La'ah as the party's governorship candidate without notifying or involving the three original aspirants. He described the development as a violation of the Electoral Act and the party's internal democratic principles, insisting that no consensus candidate could emerge without the written consent of all cleared aspirants. "The conflicting positions taken by the party's state and national leadership have created uncertainty within the NDC in Kaduna State and risk exposing the party to avoidable legal challenges," he said.
The Kaduna State chapter of the NDC, however, officially adopted former Senator Danjuma La'ah as its governorship candidate on July 11, 2026. The adoption was ratified at an Expanded State Working Committee meeting held in Kaduna on Saturday, where members of the State Executive Committee, zonal officers and chairmen from 22 of the 23 local government areas unanimously endorsed his candidature. Addressing journalists after the meeting, Kaduna State Chairman Mordecai Ibrahim said the decision to adopt La'ah came as a surprise because it was initiated by party stakeholders from the Northern Senatorial Zone. "The adoption took me by surprise. The initiative came from Zone One. The local government chairmen met and resolved that Senator Danjuma Laah should be adopted. I did not expect it because we had not conducted governorship primaries," he said.
Ibrahim explained that the party had earlier attempted to arrive at a consensus candidate among four governorship aspirants, but the process did not succeed. "We had four aspirants, Yusuf Zari Madaki, Mohammed Sani Abbas, Ibrahim Husseini Abdukarim and Senator Danjuma Laah. While we were trying to bring everybody together, Senator Laah came with a nomination form issued by the National Secretariat. I had no power to reject it because a nomination form is meant for a candidate," he said. The NDC State Chairman expressed confidence that the party would emerge victorious in the 2027 governorship election, dismissing concerns over the advantage of incumbency.
Speaking shortly after his adoption, La'ah thanked party leaders and members for the confidence reposed in him and pledged to provide inclusive and people-oriented leadership if elected governor. "I have always been prepared for this responsibility. Whenever your people call on you to serve, you must be ready. I am prepared to serve everyone without fear or favour, irrespective of tribe, religion or ethnic group," he said. The former lawmaker promised to prioritise good governance, job creation and the fulfilment of campaign promises. "I will not be a person who makes promises and fail. I will only make promises that I can fulfil. The people deserve a government that keeps its word and delivers on its commitments," he added.
La'ah had previously insisted that the next governor of Kaduna State should emerge from the Southern Senatorial District in the interest of equity, justice and fairness. He argued that Kaduna North has produced governors Namadi Sambo, Ramalan Yero and Nasir El-Rufai, while the incumbent, Senator Uba Sani, is from Kaduna Central, leaving Kaduna South as the only district yet to occupy the office. "Knowing fully that the present governor is from Kaduna Central and the other one was from Kaduna North, now I'm from Kaduna South, so at least we are meeting the demand that if A has done it and B has done it, then the next should naturally be C," he said.
Madaki, however, maintained that the conflicting positions taken by the party's state and national leadership had created uncertainty within the NDC in Kaduna State and risked exposing the party to avoidable legal challenges. He warned that imposing any candidate outside the prescribed procedures could weaken the party's grassroots structures and diminish its electoral prospects in the 2027 governorship election. As part of his demands, he called on the NDC leadership to urgently convene a meeting of all governorship aspirants to agree on a transparent process for selecting the party's candidate, ensure compliance with the Electoral Act, and resolve what he described as inconsistencies between the party's state and national leadership. Copies of the petition were sent to the party's National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson; the NDC presidential candidate, Peter Gregory Obi; Kaduna State Chairman, Evangelist Mordecai Ibrahim; fellow governorship aspirants; and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
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