A fresh crisis has erupted in the Plateau State chapter of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) following a disputed substitution primary conducted by the state leadership. The crisis widened the disagreement within the party over its governorship ticket, with the state chairman, Solomon Ndam Yakubu, and the national leadership presenting conflicting accounts of the process.
The state chairman, Solomon Ndam Yakubu, denied knowledge of any dispute over the governorship ticket and insisted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) monitored the exercise. However, a stakeholder, Abdullahi Iliya, alleged that the state chairman organised a parallel exercise with chairmen of seven local government areas and subsequently forwarded the name of Alfred Dapal Damiyal to INEC.
The controversy followed the arrival in Jos of the NDC National Auditor, Oluwole Adedapo, who was delegated by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to conduct the substitution exercise. Adedapo said he first paid a courtesy visit to the state executive at the party secretariat before convening a stakeholders’ meeting at a larger venue due to space constraints at the secretariat.
Adedapo alleged that some persons who identified themselves as operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) arrived at the venue and asked him to follow them to their office. Party members present at the meeting declined the request, explaining that he had been sent from Abuja to conduct a party assignment.
The NDC’s records showed that Da Jonathan Sunday Akuns was the only aspirant who purchased the expression of interest and nomination forms for the governorship position and successfully completed the screening process. The substitution exercise was essentially to formalise and affirm Akuns’ candidacy, since there was no other contestant.
The NDC National Secretary, Ikenna Morgan Enekweizu, confirmed that the national leadership had forwarded Akuns’ name to INEC as the party’s nominee for the Plateau governorship election. Enekweizu questioned the validity of any communication that did not carry the authorisation of the party’s national leadership.
The dispute has generated allegations of political interference, with Iliya and other stakeholders accusing the state leadership of attempting to introduce a different candidate through the parallel process. Ndam rejected the allegations, maintaining that he was not aware of any dispute over the governorship ticket and that INEC officials monitored the exercise and compiled their report.
Key points
- The crisis is centred on a disputed substitution primary conducted by the state leadership of the NDC.
- The national leadership and the state chairman have presented conflicting accounts of the process.
- The dispute has generated allegations of political interference in the party's selection process.
