Human rights activist and politician, Aisha Yesufu, has accused leaders of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) of foul play in the handling of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) senatorial ticket ahead of the 2027 general election.

Yesufu made the allegation following the party’s decision not to conduct a primary election for the FCT Senate seat, a development that effectively ended her ambition to contest.

In a viral video and subsequent statements, she confronted party officials, including the National Secretary, Ikenna Morgan Enekweizu, and members of the National Executive Committee (NEC), questioning the transparency of the process that produced the party’s candidate.

She alleged that the exercise was manipulated and predetermined, claiming the outcome was decided behind closed doors rather than through a credible democratic process.

According to Yesufu, repeated postponements, last-minute venue changes, and alterations to earlier agreed procedures undermined fairness.

She further stated that the process was shifted from the initially expected direct primaries at local government headquarters to a delegate-based system.

“When the moment came, the contest was not decided by delegates in the open; it was affirmed in a closed room,” she said.

The former aspirant also dismissed claims that she voluntarily withdrew from the race, insisting she remained in the contest until the end.

“I did not quit, I did not drop out of the race. I stayed to the end,” she said.

Reports had earlier suggested that the party’s ticket may have been ceded to another aspirant, Amanda Pam, a long-standing member of the party, although the NDC has not officially confirmed the claim.

Yesufu maintained that she would have accepted defeat if the process had been transparent and credible, but insisted that the integrity of the primary was compromised.

Despite describing the process as flawed, she said she would not challenge the outcome in court, noting that she would not expend energy on what she described as a grievance process designed to wear people down.

“I ran to win. But when the process was subverted, I made a choice: I would not exhaust myself in a grievance process designed to wear people down,” she stated.

She, however, urged her supporters to remain calm and focus on broader political objectives ahead of the 2027 elections, while reaffirming her commitment to continued political engagement in the FCT.