NDC NORTH-EAST CRISIS DEEPENS AS SIX GUBER CANDIDATES REJECT BABACHIR LAWAL
By The Analyst Reporters
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is facing a fresh internal showdown in the North-East after the party’s six governorship candidates in the region rejected the appointment of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engr. Babachir Lawal, as the party’s leader in the zone.
The candidates, representing Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe States, declared that they would neither recognise Lawal as the NDC’s North-East leader nor accept his leadership of the party’s regional activities.
In a joint statement addressed to the NDC national leadership and its National Leader, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, the candidates described their position as “collective, firm and final.”
The revolt comes only days after Lawal joined the NDC and was assigned a leadership role overseeing the party’s activities and campaigns across the North-East ahead of the 2027 general elections.
‘We Were Not Consulted’
The six governorship candidates faulted the process that produced Lawal’s appointment, alleging that they and other stakeholders who had been involved in building the party’s structures and mobilising support across the region were not consulted.
They argued that any leadership decision affecting the six North-East states should take into account the views of politicians operating at the grassroots.
Their position was blunt:
«“We do not recognise Engr. Babachir Lawal as the Leader of the NDC in the North-East, and we will not recognise him as such.”»
The candidates further questioned whether Lawal’s appointment would strengthen the party electorally in the region, saying they were not convinced that his emergence would add electoral value to the NDC.
They maintained that consultation with the governorship candidates before the appointment could have allowed the national leadership to better understand the political realities and concerns in each of the six states.
Six Candidates Draw the Line
The statement was signed by:
- Aishatu Dahiru Ahamed — Adamawa State
- Barr. Ibrahim Muhammad Kashim — Bauchi State
- Rear Admiral S. Kashim Ibrahim (Rtd.) — Borno State
- Dr. Babayo Ardo — Gombe State
- Prof. Mohammed Sani — Taraba State
- Ibrahim M. Shitu — Yobe State.
The candidates acknowledged the efforts of the NDC national leadership in providing a political platform ahead of 2027 but insisted that their objection to Lawal’s appointment remained unchanged.
They urged Dickson and other national leaders to review the decision and engage the affected stakeholders in the interest of party unity and cohesion.
Lawal's Return to Active Politics
Lawal, a former SGF, joined the NDC on September 22 after leaving the African Democratic Congress (ADC) amid his disagreement with the process that produced former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the ADC's presidential candidate.
Upon receiving him into the NDC, Dickson described Lawal as an experienced politician and mobiliser and said the former SGF would oversee the party’s activities and campaigns in the North-East.
Lawal subsequently declared support for the NDC’s presidential ticket of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 election.
But the latest revolt from the six governorship candidates has now placed the NDC’s North-East leadership arrangement under pressure.
The immediate challenge for the party’s national leadership is whether it can reconcile the authority it has given Lawal with the categorical rejection coming from all six of its governorship candidates across the region.
For a party preparing for a major electoral contest, the dispute puts consultation, internal cohesion and control of grassroots structures at the centre of an increasingly public political disagreement.
The Analyst Online Media will continue to monitor developments within the NDC as the party responds to the unprecedented rejection of its North-East leadership arrangement.