Kaduna State NDC Gubernatorial Candidate Zariyi Yusuf Madaki Petitions National Working Committee, Rejects Imposition

From: Musa Muhammad 

KADUNA — A gubernatorial aspirant of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, in Kaduna State, Zariyi Yusuf Madaki, has formally petitioned the National Working Committee of the party over what he described as “arbitrary and inconsistent actions” by both the state and national leadership in the process of producing the party’s flag bearer for the 2027 governorship election.

In the petition dated July 15, 2026 and addressed to the National Chairman of the NDC, Madaki alleged that no primary election was conducted on May 29, 2026, nor was any consensus reached among the three screened aspirants. He further rejected the unilateral declaration of Sen. Danjuma La'ah as the party’s candidate and the separate claim by the National Chairman recognizing Barr. Sani Abbas, saying both actions violate the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act 2026. 

The full petition is reproduced below.

15th of July, 2026

The National Chairman

Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC)  

Headquarters, N0. 4 Odienna close,  

off Libreville Street, Wuse II,

 Abuja.

Through, 

The Kaduna State Chairman,

Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC)

Sir,

REJECTION OF THE IMPOSITION OF ANY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE IN KADUNA BY THE STATE AND/OR NATIONAL EXECUTIVE OF THE NIGERIA DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS

BACKGROUND

I wish to draw the attention of KADUNA STATE and National leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress to certain issues that require most urgent attention, as failure to address them may spell doom for the prospects of the NDC in Kaduna state in the coming elections in 2027.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) scheduled the 29th of May, 2026, for its primaries across Nigeria. It is to the knowledge of the NDC that the primaries, at least for the emergence of a gubernatorial candidate in Kaduna state did not hold, nor was any consensus reached as to the next step to be taken in producing the party's flag bearer in the state.

As at the 29th of May, 2026, the date of the primary elections, the gubernatorial candidates of Kaduna state screened for the process were:

1. Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Abdulkarim

2. Mr. Zariyi Yusuf Madaki

3. Barr. Sani Abbas

The members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress Electoral Committee members sent to Kaduna state were:

1. Prof. Opuala Charles - Chairman

2. Madaki Mohammed Musau - Secretary

3. Abdulhamid Tambari Kagara - Member

4. Balarabe Ayuba - Member

5. Musa Abdulraheem - Member 

Unfortunately, the primary election that was to produce a gubernatorial candidate for the Nigeria Democratic Congress was cancelled/suspended after unnecessary delays for the most part of the day and a futile attempt at getting the three aspirants - Mr. Zariyi Yusuf Madaki, Alh. Ibrahim Abdulkarim and Barr. Sani Abbas - to come to a consensus.

Following the delay, between 7:00pm - 8:00pm of the 29th of May, 2026, the Electoral Committee decided that, since neither the primary election was conducted nor a consensus reached, the name of the NDC Chairman of Kaduna state, Evangelist Mordecai Ibrahim, would be sent as a place holder pending either the setting of another date for the primaries or another modality to produce a gubernatorial candidate for Kaduna state on the NDC platform. 

As at the moment, since the 29th of May, 2026, neither the state nor the national leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress has officially or unofficially reached out the aspirants in regards to the what was agreed between the three aspirants and the Electoral Committee, as chaired by Prof. Opuala Charles - at least to the best of my knowledge.

THE ISSUES

On the 19th of June, 2026, I received calls from my campaign team, with picture evidence, that the Kaduna State Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress had handed the party's nomination form to one of the aspirants, Alh. Ibrahim Abdulkarim. I reached out to the NDC state chairman the same day and insisted for an urgent meeting the following day, 20th June, 2026. Unfortunately, the chairman avoided all calls and refused to grant me audience. He, however, later claimed that he was still in possession of the form, that he took that measure to push for the expedition of producing a candidate. I expressed my reservation regarding that antic. I told him it is not an acceptable measure within my own camp nor does it have my consent.

THE PETITIONS

I received a copy of a petition written to the National Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress by the Kaduna state chairman of the NDC dated 29th of June, 2026, which was titled: "My Observations on the Very Serious Electoral Act, 2026 Infractions by our Amiable Party on the Non-Conduct of the Kaduna State Gubernatorial Primary Election", where the Kaduna state chairman of the NDC highlighted how he was summoned by one of the aspirants to his residence and asked to issue him the nomination form as the party's chosen candidate. A video made some rounds also where, in an event that appeared as a press conference, the National Chairman of the NDC referred to Barr. Sani Abbas as "the NDC gubernatorial candidate for Kaduna state". 

These actions were all arbitrarily taken by both the state and national leadership of the party without any form of consultation or consensus among the aspirants. Indeed, these are serious infractions and, if I might add, a betrayal of what was agreed on the 29th of May, 2026 in Kaduna.

However, there was another concern that was conspicuous in that petition. A name, Sen. Danjuma La'ah, which at the time of the primary elections, May 29th, was not in the NDC aspirants list for any position in Kaduna state, appeared as a fourth gubernatorial aspirant for Kaduna, in addition to Mr. Zariyi Yusuf Madaki, Alh. Ibrahim Abdulkarim and Barr. Sani Abbas. The state chairman mentioned in the petition that the National Organizing Secretary of the NDC informed him that for Kaduna governorship, the "NDC gubernatorial aspirants had increased to four", referring to Sen. Danjuma La'ah as the fourth aspirant.

Whereas the petition dated 29th of May, 2026, sought to call on the national leadership of the party to address these infractions, the inclusion of a fourth aspirant, was merely mention in passing as an information.

While hoping, in the light of these infractions and developments, the party would address the issue, the Kaduna state chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress announced in a meeting/press conference organized on Saturday, 11th of July, 2026, in Kaduna, by himself, the newly included aspirant, Sen. Danjuma La'ah and some members of the state executives of the NDC, that they have "unanimously adopted" Sen. Danjuma La'ah as the party's candidate for Kaduna state 2027 governorship elections. Once again, this meeting or press conference was hosted without the knowledge of any of the aspirants that were scheduled for the primary that should have held on the 29th of May, 2026.

Following this gross infraction, the state Chairman sent to me a soft copy of another petition he titled: "Adoption of a Gubernatorial Candidate", which was dated 14th July, 2026. In the petition, he highlighted how it was an "indisputable truth that gubernatorial primary election or consensus did not take place in Kaduna State on 29th May and that it was the unanimous decision of the State Executive and the following NDC Electoral Committee members to Kaduna State". While the petition highlighted how it was "aimed at dousing the tension that has been created by Barr Mohammed Sani Abbas who has been parading himself as the anointed gubernatorial candidate by the National Leader and National Chairman of our great party", it left the said "unanimous" adoption of Sen. Danjuma La'ah as the party's candidate in a meeting he organized without the knowledge of the gubernatorial aspirants of the NDC in Kaduna.

THE INCONSISTENCIES

Both petitions by the Kaduna state Chairman of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, although appearing to be aimed at resolving the quagmire of the gubernatorial primary of Kaduna state, they always follow actions carried out by the chairman that outrightly negate the principles he claims to aim at upholding: first, handing the nomination form to one of the aspirants and posing for a photo-op declaring him the candidate, then petitioning against "infractions"; secondly, hosting a meeting with some members of the Kaduna state NDC executives and declaring Sen. Danjuma La'ah as the "unanimously" adopted candidate while, I must insist, he was not an aspirant for any office in Kaduna as at the day of the gubernatorial primary, May 29th, 2026, which the NDC Electoral Committee, led by Prof. Opuala Charles suspended.

The National Chairman declared Barr. Abbas the governorship candidate of the NDC in Kaduna regardless of the fact that there was no primary election or any form of consensus. And while the claims of Barr. Abbas are destabilizing the party structures across the state, Sen. Danjuma La'ah was smuggled into the equation as a fourth candidate. To worse an already bad situation, the fourth candidate was said to have approached the Kaduna state party executives with the nomination form he claimed was issued him by the national leadership, hence the meeting and press conference of July 11th, 2026, where the Kaduna state party chairman and his executives declared him as the "unanimously adopted" candidate by the NDC in Kaduna, deliberately so behind the back of the only three aspirants that set out for the May 29th gubernatorial primary that was suspended/cancelled by the Electoral Committee sent to Kaduna. these infractions undermine the only two modalities for recognising any candidate nominated - direct primaries and nomination.

IN SUMMARY

The chances of Nigeria Democratic Congress in Kaduna state are being seriously undermined by the inconsistencies of both the state and national leadership in the matter of producing a gubernatorial aspirant for the 2027 elections on the NDC platform.

Section 84(9) of the Electoral Act 2026 allows for parties to nominate candidates through a consensus ONLY if all the aspirants cleared have provided a written consent, which I am not aware if any aspirant among the three cleared for the May 29th, 2026, Kaduna gubernatorial primaries - Mr. Zariyi Yusuf Madaki, Alh. Ibrahim abdulkarim and Barr. Sani Abbas - have met and agreed to such.

The silence of both the state and national executives, since the May 29th aborted primaries, and their lack of effort to reach out or bring the gubernatorial aspirants in Kaduna to a respectable conversation regarding the emergence of a flag bearer for the NDC condescends the aspirants and their ambition for the office they are running for and exposes the party to unnecessary controversies should aggrieved contenders so choose to seek redress by exercising Section 84(14) of the Electoral Act 2026.

The attitude of the party towards a matter this sensitive, especially in a state like Kaduna, is drastically demoralizing whatever hope or inspiration the Nigeria Democratic Congress stirred in its initial outing. So much resources and consultations went into my grassroots engagements across the 23 Local Governments in Kaduna as I prepared for the May 29th primary election. This outing is profound and borne out of a deep political ambition. It is extremely dismissive of our belief in the NDC ideology, our commitment to the party and our effort to secure votes in the 2027 general elections if the party decides to go the path of imposition. This will not only negate the ideology of the party and destroy our structures across the state, but profoundly undermine the outing of the NDC in 2027. 

Belief, commitment and efforts do not thrive in a political vacuum, especially in the grassroots.

PRAYER

1. Convene a meeting of all the NDC gubernatorial aspirants to discuss clear, equitable and transparent modalities for producing a candidate to fly the party's ticket.

2. Eliminate any grounds on which legal actions could be taken to disqualify the party or its candidate from contesting by ensuring no candidate with such baggage is handed the party's flag.

3. Take appropriate and practical measures to address the inconsistencies between the state leadership and national leadership of the NDC on any decision regarding the party going forward.

It is my earnest hope that, as a matter of utmost immediacy, these matters are attended to and resolved.

Faithfully,

Zariyi Yusuf Madaki

NDC Gubernatorial Candidate,

Kaduna State

Cc:  

Sen. Seriake Dickson - The National Leader of the NDC  

Peter Gregory Obi - The NDC Presidential Candidate  

Evangelist Mordecai Ibrahim - The Kaduna State Chairman of the NDC  

Alh. Ibrahim Abdulkarim - NDC Gubernatorial Aspirant, Kaduna State  

Barr. Sani Abbas - NDC Gubernatorial Aspirant, Kaduna State  

Prof. Joash Amupitan - INEC Chairman  

Prof. Sa'idu Babura Ahmed - Resident Electoral Commissioner, Kaduna State