Aisha Yesufu Accusing NDC Of Breaching Electoral Act In FCT Senate Primaries

Activist Aisha Yesufu, a known supporter of Peter Obi, has lost the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) senate primary election under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Aisha Yesufu joined the NDC from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and, on May 6, announced her plan to contest for the senate seat.

She explained that her decision was based on the leadership experience she gained while in the ADC.

However, there were growing reports that the party had already favoured another aspirant, Amanda Pam, who had been with the party before Yesufu joined.

In a statement on Friday, Yesufu revealed that the NDC will not hold a primary election for the FCT senate seat, effectively ending her chances of contesting.

She called on her supporters to remain calm and stay focused on the bigger political goal ahead of the 2027 elections.

On Friday night, the activist released another statement, saying she could not “compromise” her values in a process marred by “injustice” and “breach of Electoral Act”.

Yusufa explained that she joined politics to push for real change but was determined to remain true to her values.

“I understood what I was getting into. I knew that the quality of our politics has not yet risen to the occasion, that values-based candidates do not easily emerge by merit in a system built to resist them,” she said.

“But I made a decision going in: I would not compromise my values. I would stand for what is right. I did not leave advocacy to go into politics. I took advocacy into politics.”

Yesufu said she built her campaign on grassroots support and claimed her “SAY-Nation” team was strong enough that the party’s decision process “had to be taken out of the open and resolved through a clandestine affirmation behind closed doors.”

According to her, “what was billed as a primary was, in truth, a predetermined outcome dressed in procedural formalities”.

She alleged that the primary was postponed several times, venues were changed at short notice, and party rules were not properly followed.

“The delegate-based process was introduced to be conducted at a central location instead of direct primaries at Local Government headquarters,” she claimed.

“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.”

Yesufu added that although the party might describe the process as free and fair, “but the facts that transpired, when weighed against conscience and the guidelines of the Electoral Act, do not reflect justice and fairness”.

She said she chose not to speak out immediately because she wanted to fully understand what had happened.

“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,” she said.

“I now understand the architecture of the system in ways no textbook, no punditry, no amount of outside observation could ever teach.

“That knowledge is worth more than any petition I could have filed. I leave this process with something far more valuable than a ticket; I leave with clarity.”

Yesufu clarified that her comments are based on her personal experience in the FCT race and should not be seen as a reflection of what happened in other states.

Despite her concerns, she said that “the NDC remains the only party that has given the best presidential candidate in the 2027 electoral cycle a platform to run”.

At the time of filing this report, the NDC has not responded to Aisha Yesufa’s claims.

However, the party’s national leader, Seriake Dickson, had earlier stated that no aspirant was favoured and that all candidates were given equal opportunity in the primaries.

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