Party Rift Emerges Over Aisha Yesufu’s Senate Ambition Ahead of 2027 Elections

(Peter Obi(L) and Aisha Yesufu(R). Photo by Vanguard News)

Ikenna Enekweizu, the National Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has stated that activist Aisha Yesufu should run for the AMAC/Gwari House of Representatives seat instead of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Senate seat, according to Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate.

NDC National Secretary Enekweizu has addressed the controversy surrounding activist Aisha Yesufu’s participation in the party’s primaries, revealing details of internal discussions about her candidacy.

Speaking in a television interview on Wednesday, Enekweizu said that when Peter Obi joined the NDC, one of the early goals was for him to help build consensus around the party’s candidate for the AMAC/Gwari federal constituency seat.

He recalled that Obi had personally expressed his preference for Yesufu to contest the House of Representatives seat for that constituency, but was surprised days later to learn via social media that she was instead pursuing a Senate seat a shift he said had not been discussed with the party.

According to Enekweizu, the party subsequently made efforts to persuade Yesufu to reconsider and run for the House of Representatives instead, with the party’s national leader meeting with her twice to make that appeal.

However, he said Yesufu remained firm in her decision, insisting that she saw herself as suited for the Senate rather than the House of Representatives, and the party ultimately allowed her to proceed with her preferred choice.

Enekweizu noted that Yesufu went on to lose the primary election, and advised her to make use of the party’s internal dispute-resolution mechanisms if she had grievances about the process, noting that several other aspirants who lost primaries in different constituencies had taken similar steps.

He also pushed back against suggestions that Yesufu had been unfairly treated, pointing out that she was not the only Obi supporter who contested for the AMAC/Gwari seat, with a total of 23 aspirants having purchased nomination forms for the position.

His comments follow earlier remarks by NDC National Leader Seriake Dickson, who said the party had offered Yesufu a House of Representatives ticket, which she turned down in favour of pursuing a Senate seat ahead of the 2027 elections.