The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Plateau State has been plunged into a fresh dispute over competing claims arising from the party’s recent governorship substitution primary ahead of the 2027 election.

The controversy centres on the identity of the party’s candidate, with the national leadership declaring Da Jonathan Sunday Akuns the winner of its substitution primary, while a separate exercise reportedly took place at the state level.

NDC National Auditor, Oluwole Adedapo, who was delegated by the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to conduct the primary, said Akuns emerged unopposed.

Adedapo said that on arrival in Jos, he paid a courtesy visit to the party’s state executive committee at its secretariat, where he explained the purpose of his assignment.

He said a stakeholders’ meeting was later moved to a larger venue because of space constraints at the secretariat.

According to him, the meeting was disrupted on the eve of the primary when some persons who identified themselves as operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) allegedly asked him to accompany them.

Adedapo said party members present declined the request, explaining that he had been sent from Abuja and that the gathering was a legitimate political meeting.

He further alleged that on the day of the primary, the state chairman, Solomon Ndam Yakubu, opposed the exercise and proceeded with a separate meeting involving chairmen of seven local government areas.

Adedapo maintained that the responsibility for conducting governorship primaries rested with the national leadership of the party.

He said the NDC’s records showed that Akuns was the only aspirant who purchased the expression of interest and nomination forms and was successfully screened.

He added that the substitution exercise was intended to secure stakeholder affirmation of Akuns’ candidacy as he had no challenger.

However, a party stakeholder, Abdullahi Iliya, alleged that Ndam subsequently forwarded the name of Alfred Dapal Damiyal to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the separate exercise.

Iliya claimed that Damiyal had previously contested the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in Plateau State.

The allegation could not be independently verified from the information available.

Ndam, however, denied wrongdoing and said he was not aware of any dispute over the NDC governorship ticket.

He maintained that INEC monitored the exercise and compiled its report.

NDC National Secretary, Ikenna Morgan Enekweizu, a lawyer, said the party had forwarded Akuns’ name to INEC as its nominee for the Plateau governorship election.

Enekweizu said it would be unusual for INEC to accept a communication concerning the party’s governorship candidate that was not endorsed by the appropriate national officers.

“I heard that the Plateau State chairman sent a name to INEC, but I am just hearing the suggestion that my signature and that of the National Chairman could have been cloned,” he said.

He added that if INEC acted on any name different from the one submitted by the national leadership, the party would seek clarification and pursue appropriate legal remedies.

“We have forwarded the name of Da Jonathan Sunday Akuns to INEC and anything outside that is an aberration,” Enekweizu said.

The latest dispute has created uncertainty over the NDC’s governorship ticket in Plateau State, with the national leadership insisting that Akuns is its duly nominated candidate.

The competing claims could ultimately require clarification by the party and the electoral authorities as preparations intensify for the 2027 governorship election.