The Kaduna State Chapter of National Democratic Congress (NDC) has rejected alleged imposition of a Governorship Candidate, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Abbas by the national leaders of the party, saying that it is undemocratic and unconstitutional.

While urging NDC national leaders to desist from imposing Abbas as the govenorship candidate of the opposition party in the State for the 2027 general election, the officials of the State chapter warned on the grave consequences of such imposition.

A statement issued on Friday by the
Kaduna State NDC Publicity Secretary, Isaac Tanko Marafa Tsoriang, pointed out, “what the teaming members of the Kaduna State chapter of NDC and the entire party leadership in the State is demanding for is simple, arrange for the conduct of a primary election for the valid nomination of our candidate either by way of Consensus or direct primary election”, insisting that “we want our State gubernatorial candidate to validly and legally emerge.”

The statement added, “the Kaduna State NDC members are about to be brazenly denied their statutory (constitutional) right of electing their flag bearer, we shall vehemently oppose this undemocratic move.”

According to the NDC Spokesman in the State, “what happened in Abuja on Tuesday, 21st May was pure imposition and not reconciliation, Consensus or Direct Primary Election which is grossly undemocratic, dictatorial, and it contravenes the clear provisions of Section 87 (1 – 3) of the Electoral Act 2026”.

Tsoriang said, “the Kaduna State NDC is therefore calling on the national leadership of our great party to allow for the democratic emergence of our gubernatorial candidate as provided by the Electoral Act 2026”, stressing that “the Electoral Act 2026 clearly donates the power to elect the state governorship candidate only to the members of NDC in Kaduna State.”

“Also, Section 36 of the Electoral Act 2026 as legal duty mandates INEC to extend the period of nomination of a gubernatorial candidate for any State (like Kaduna) that was unable to produce a validly nominated candidate on the primary election day. Section 36 of the Electoral Act 2026 reads: Where at the close of nomination there is no candidate validly nominated, the Commission shall extend the time for nomination and fix a new date for the election, ” he added.

The statement further warned, “we hope that the national leadership of our great party will not commit the fatal error of doing anything that would be capable of denying Kaduna State the right of fielding a candidate for the governor’s position in the 2027. It is obvious that any attempt to upload a gubernatorial candidate for Kaduna State that did not emerge from a validly conducted Consensus or Direct Primary Election monitored by INEC shall outrightly deny our state the legal right to field a candidate that shall be also legally acceptable to INEC and widely accepted by the majority members of Kaduna State NDC.”

Tsoriang also remarked, “we advise our amiable national leadership to please take advantage of the clear provisions of Section 36 of the Electoral Act 2026 to write INEC as provided by Section 36 of the Electoral Act 2026 to come and monitor the primary election or consensus to produce a validly nominated and widely accepted gubernatorial candidate. Anything short of this shall not augur well for Kaduna State chapter of NDC. A stitch in time saves nine.”

Meanwhile, he highlighted the efforts made by officials of the State chapter of the party in ensuring sanity on the issue, saying, “on Tuesday, 21st July 2026, a few selected numbers of our State Working Committee (SWC) along with one Local Government Chairman and the Kwarbai ‘B’ Ward Chairman were in Abuja to discuss the political imbroglio in our dear state and the attempt to impose Mohammed Sani Abbas as the gubernatorial candidate of Kaduna State when no primary election was held on 29th May.”

He noted, “for emphasis’s sake, Kaduna State governorship primary election did not hold on 29th May because the Kaduna State Chairman of the NDC Electoral Committee, Prof. Silva Opuala-Charles instructed the State Chairman to invite all the State gubernatorial aspirants to meet with him with the view to produce a gubernatorial candidate by Consensus. The Electoral Committee, the SWC and the aspirants spent the whole day (of 29th May) discussing with three aspirants on how to reach a Consensus that would have produced a validly nominated candidate for Kaduna State”.

Tsoriang continued: “consequently, the governorship primary election scheduled for that 29th May could not hold or thereafter, it has not held until today. There was also no Consensus reached as to which of the three candidates as at that day, 29th May (i.e. Ibrahim Hussaini Abdulkarim, Zariyi Yusuf Madaki and Mohammad Sani Abbas) should the candidate to fly the flag of our party in Kaduna State”.

He added, “the state leadership of the party was however visited by Senator Danjuma La’ah to introduce himself to have joined the party and the governorship race, making the governorship aspirants four. Surprisingly, without the conduct of gubernatorial primary election or Consensus, when Senator Danjuma La’ah appeared before the NDC State Working Committee (SWC) he came with NDC candidate’s Nomination Form and the evidence of payment of N30 million Naira for both his Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms. Senator La’ah told the SWC that he was issued the governor’s Nomination Form signed by the National Secretary of NDC on 25th May, four days before the earlier scheduled gubernatorial primary election of 29th May.”

Insisting that the State chapter of the party will resist any form of imposition with everything in it’s power, he said, “the public may wish to know that Mohammed Sani Abbas was imposed on the Kaduna State chapter of NDC. Neither Abbas nor Senator Danjuma La’ah are products of a valid nomination as provided by Section 87 (1 – 3) of the Electoral Act 2026 which states”.