By Daruba Farouk

National News – The campaign organisation of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Mohammed Abbas, has dismissed allegations that he was imposed as the party’s flag bearer for the 2027 governorship election.

The denial followed claims by a group of aggrieved party members, who alleged that the NDC National Working Committee imposed Abbas despite the absence of a valid governorship primary election.

Speaking at a press briefing in Kaduna on Friday, Coordinator of the OK Movement and Protem Director-General of the Mohammed Sani Abbas Campaign Organisation, Alhaji Ibrahim Kaya, maintained that Abbas remained the party’s only recognised governorship candidate in the state.

According to Kaya, Abbas emerged through due process and was duly confirmed and uploaded by the party’s national leadership in line with the Electoral Act and the NDC constitution.

He explained that the NDC, which was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in December 2025, complied with all legal procedures in nominating candidates for elective offices.

Kaya dismissed reports of a crisis within the Kaduna chapter of the party, describing disagreements among members as a normal feature of democratic politics rather than evidence of division.

“It is normal for members to have different political interests, but that does not amount to a crisis. We are one family in the NDC, and all issues will be resolved through reconciliation,” he said.

He also rejected claims that Abbas failed to obtain his nomination form through the appropriate process, insisting that the governorship candidate was validly nominated and presented by the party on June 7, 2026.

Kaya further accused some party leaders of exploiting governorship aspirants and promoting ethnic and religious sentiments, urging the national leadership to investigate the allegations and sanction anyone found culpable.

“We want politics devoid of ethnic, religious and sectional sentiments. Kaduna belongs to all of us, and we must work together to build a united party,” he added.

However, in a statement signed by the Kaduna State Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Isaac Tanko, the aggrieved members insisted that no governorship primary election took place on May 29, 2026.

The group explained that the party’s Electoral Committee, headed by Prof. Silva Opuala-Charles, directed the state chairman to convene a meeting of governorship aspirants to explore the possibility of producing a consensus candidate.

According to the statement, the meeting involving Ibrahim Abdulkarim, Zariyi Madaki and Mohammed Abbas failed to produce a consensus, while former Senator Danjuma La’ah later joined the race after purchasing nomination forms.

The aggrieved members argued that since no consensus was reached, the scheduled governorship primary did not hold, making the recognition of Abbas as the party’s candidate inconsistent with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

They therefore called on the party’s national leadership to seek an extension of the nomination period from INEC and conduct a fresh governorship primary to produce a valid candidate for the 2027 election.