The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has omitted former Senator Danjuma Laah, from its final list of governorship candidates for Kaduna State amid a dispute within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over its flagbearer. Laah was announced as the party’s preferred candidate by the State Executive Committee (SEC) and local government chairmen. However, conflicting statements from the party’s state and national leadership have raised questions about the status of his nomination.
The party’s national leadership reportedly disowned a widely circulated document said to confirm Laah’s candidacy. The NDC deputy national chairman (North), Alhaji Sidi Abdul Bomi, also stated that the party had not formally issued a governorship ticket to any aspirant. The position contradicted the state chapter’s earlier announcement, further deepening the dispute over who would represent the party in the Kaduna governorship election.
Another aspirant, Mohammed Sani Abbas, also claimed the ticket, insisting that he was the party’s legitimate governorship candidate. Meanwhile, some party stakeholders alleged that the name of the state chairman, Evangelist Mordecai Sunday Ibrahim, had been submitted to INEC as a placeholder pending the resolution of the nomination dispute. INEC has not officially disclosed the reason for Laah’s omission from the list, while the conflicting claims have left the status of the NDC’s governorship nomination unclear.
All efforts to reach the Kaduna State NDC chairman, Evangelist Mordecai Sunday Ibrahim, for comments on the controversy proved abortive.
