ABUJA, Nigeria: Aisha Yesufu, a political activist in Nigeria, accused the Nigeria Democratic Congress of breaching the Electoral Act and subverting the candidate selection process for the Federal Capital Territory senate ticket in a statement released on May 29, 2026.
Okay News reports that Yesufu issued the allegation hours after announcing the party would not conduct primary elections for the seat, ending her bid for the nomination.
The activist declared her candidacy on May 6, 2026, after leaving the African Democratic Congress. Her declaration followed internal speculation that the party leadership had resolved to give the ticket to another aspirant, Amanda Pam.
In her statement, Yesufu said, “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 alleged that the selection process was moved to a central location instead of holding direct primaries at local government headquarters. Yesufu said, “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 maintained her support for the party’s presidential platform ahead of the 2027 elections. Yesufu said she chose not to legally challenge the outcome to focus on learning from the experience. The Nigeria Democratic Congress had not issued an official response to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
