Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A woman who says she won the Nigeria Democratic Congress primary election for the Kawo Constituency seat in the Kaduna State House of Assembly has taken the party and its preferred candidate to court, asking a Federal High Court in Kaduna to declare her the rightful nominee for the 2027 general elections. Rakiya Asabe Nakorji, a member of the NDC from Hayin Banki Ward in Kaduna North Local Government Area, filed the originating summons through her lawyers, naming the NDC as the first defendant, Yunusa Muhammed Salisu as the second defendant, and the Independent National Electoral Commission as the third defendant. The suit is marked FHF/KO/CS/182/2026.
According to the court documents, Nakorji purchased the party's nomination form to contest the Kawo State Constituency seat and was screened and cleared alongside Salisu to participate in the primary election. She alleges that the NDC conducted the primary through direct primaries on May 29, 2026, and that she was returned as the winner. She claims her name was initially compiled with those of other aspirants who won their primaries for transmission to INEC. She says she was later shocked to discover that Salisu's name had been submitted to the electoral commission instead.
"To the Plaintiff's greatest surprise and dismay, the name of the 1st Defendant was wrongly and unlawfully submitted to the 3rd Defendant as candidate," the affidavit states. Nakorji contends that Salisu did not win the primary and did not obtain the highest valid votes. She is asking the court to determine whether the NDC's unilateral submission of Salisu's name to INEC, despite her alleged victory, contravenes the Electoral Act 2026. She seeks a declaration that the substitution was wrongful, unconstitutional, null and void, and an order setting aside all actions taken by the party in nominating and submitting Salisu's name. She also wants a perpetual injunction restraining the NDC from holding Salisu out as its candidate for the Kawo seat.
The dispute has been brewing for months. Reports in June 2026 indicated that Nakorji, also identified as Rakiya Baba Mohammed, accused the party leadership of attempting to deny her the nomination ticket despite emerging as the winner. Sources within the NDC told SaharaReporters that the primary results, which were signed by INEC officials, the party's returning officers and security personnel present at the exercise, showed Nakorji polling 225 votes against Salisu's 132. Despite that result, INEC subsequently published Salisu as the NDC candidate for the Kawo Constituency seat ahead of the 2027 elections.
At the centre of the controversy is the identity of Salisu's father. Multiple reports identify him as Yunusa Muhammed Salisu, the son of Yunusa Tanko, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide. A top source within the NDC told SaharaReporters that Tanko attempted to take Nakorji's mandate after she defeated his son at the primary. According to the source, Nakorji confronted Tanko after discovering what was being planned and obtained certified true copies of relevant electoral documents, including the primary results, while records of the election were also available on the INEC portal. The source said some Obidients picked up interest in her case and have been fighting Tanko on her behalf. The source further alleged that Tanko instituted a N5 billion lawsuit against a woman who had been supporting Nakorji's case, accusing her of having an interest in the matter. The lawsuit reportedly followed an earlier letter from 19 coordinators representing the 19 northern states, who accused the woman of challenging Tanko without concrete evidence.
Salisu has denied the allegations. In a statement, he rejected the claims made by his rival and insisted that he emerged as the valid winner of the exercise. He maintained that any dispute arising from the primary election should be directed at the electoral process and not at individuals who had no role in conducting the exercise. His position directly contradicts Nakorji's account of the vote tally and the circumstances surrounding the submission of names to INEC.
Nakorji's supporters have escalated their campaign for her recognition. In a third open letter addressed to the NDC national leadership and dated September 23, 2026, they demanded the immediate and unconditional recovery of what they described as her stolen mandate. "The mandate of Rakiya Baba Mohammed was stolen. That stolen mandate remains hers by right, by the will of the people who chose her, and by the principles the NDC claims to uphold," the letter read. "The stolen mandate of Rakiya Baba Mohammed will choke those who stole it. It will choke them in the court of public opinion. It will choke them in the court of law." The supporters said the primary results were compiled, endorsed by the Returning Officer, an INEC official and security representatives, and that the will of the delegates was unambiguous. They alleged that party officials later sought to alter or disregard those results and hand the nomination form to the defeated aspirant. "This is not internal party administration. This is the theft of a mandate won at the grassroots. It is favouritism dressed as process," the letter stated.
The case has drawn attention to the internal tensions within the NDC, a relatively new platform that has become the vehicle for the Peter Obi-Rabiu Kwankwaso presidential ticket. The involvement of Yunusa Tanko, a prominent figure in the Obidient Movement, has added a layer of political sensitivity to the dispute. The NDC has not issued a public statement on the specific allegations raised in the suit. INEC, which is named as the third defendant, has also not commented on the matter.
For Nakorji, the court case represents the culmination of months of efforts to reclaim what she believes is rightfully hers. She is asking the court to declare the alleged substitution wrongful and to restrain the NDC from presenting Salisu as its candidate. The case will test the party's commitment to internal democracy and the willingness of the courts to enforce the provisions of the Electoral Act. As the 2027 general elections approach, the outcome of the suit could have implications beyond the Kawo Constituency, setting a precedent for how political parties handle disputed primaries and candidate substitutions. For now, the matter rests with the Federal High Court in Kaduna, and the people of Kawo Constituency are waiting to see who will ultimately carry the NDC's flag.
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