…Alleges disenfranchisement, gender discrimination

The only female aspirant of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the House of Representatives seat for Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency in Abia State, Barrister Nkasiobi Madumere, has petitioned the National Chairman of the party over the conduct of the party’s primary election allegedly held in Umuahia South Local Government Area on Friday, May 29, 2026.

Madumere, who addressed journalists in Umuahia on Thursday, said her grievances stemmed from alleged disenfranchisement, discrimination and other forms of ill-treatment meted out to her during the primaries.

According to her, although the result of the purported primaries had yet to be officially announced, she was reliably informed that one Hon. Obinna was returned as winner despite allegedly not participating in the exercise.
She claimed that neither the said aspirant nor his representatives or supporters were seen at any of the three local government areas that make up the Ikwuano/Umuahia Federal Constituency throughout the duration of the exercise.

Madumere noted that she was not only the only female aspirant in the House of Representatives race in her constituency, but also the only female aspirant in the South-East under the NDC platform.

She explained that the party’s repeated emphasis on inclusiveness for women and youths motivated her decision to contest for the federal legislative seat.

According to her, no accreditation was conducted for aspirants or supporters before counting allegedly commenced for Senate aspirants, followed by the House of Representatives and House of Assembly categories.

She further alleged that some representatives and supporters of absent aspirants at the venue did not possess party membership cards.

“After the senatorial counting and that of the House of Representatives aspirants that followed, the so-called delegates counted the representatives and supporters of my co-contenders and wilfully ignored myself and my supporters, who were orderly queued in line,” she alleged.

Madumere stated in her petition to the National Chairman that despite her protests and repeated complaints, she and her supporters were allegedly sidelined and disenfranchised without justification.

“Notwithstanding my complaints and protest to be counted with my supporters, I and my group were deliberately ignored, sidelined, relegated and disenfranchised in broad daylight without any justifiable reason,” she said.
She added that even after reporting the incident to INEC officials, police officers, legal observers and other security personnel at the venue, no action was taken before officials allegedly departed the venue around 6:30 p.m., abruptly ending the exercise.

Madumere also claimed that in Ikwuano and Umuahia North local government areas, no party officials or delegates showed up until supporters eventually dispersed around 5 p.m.

According to her, the entire exercise reflected inequality, bias and gender-based discrimination contrary to the values the party publicly advocates.

“The most painful part of the exercise was that out of the seven aspirants, six were absent while I was fully present with my supporters, yet I was intentionally disenfranchised from the purported primaries,” she stated.
She said she possesses video and photographic evidence to substantiate her claims and urged the National Chairman to urgently intervene before the matter damages the image of the party.

Madumere further described herself as a committed supporter of Mr. Peter Obi and the movement for good governance, equity and national development.

“I believe Nigeria will change, and that it is through our collective contributions that the country will become better. That belief inspired me to join the race to represent my people,” she said.

She explained that after purchasing the party’s nomination form in Abuja and successfully scaling the screening process, she was shocked by what she described as “the highest form of degradation, discrimination and disenfranchisement” during the primaries.

Narrating her experience, Madumere said the venue for the Umuahia South primaries was communicated to aspirants around 1 a.m. on the day of the exercise and later moved from the civic centre in Olokoro to Olokoro Primary School because of the large number of supporters present.

According to her, upon arriving at the new venue, no delegates, state officials or INEC representatives were on ground until several hours later.

She said she later moved to the Umuahia North venue at Murphy’s Mansion near the Umuahia War Museum, where she again found no party officials or delegates.

“As a lawyer, I understand the importance of evidence. I gathered my supporters and recorded videos and photographs to show that I participated in the exercise and had supporters on ground,” she said.

Madumere alleged that some party stakeholders considered her a woman who should be relegated to the background despite the level of support she attracted.

“They feel that as a woman, I should be discriminated against and should not even have the large crowd of supporters that I had,” she alleged.

She disclosed that she has already submitted an appeal to the NDC Appeal Committee over the matter.