The Turaki-led PDP changed the venue of its convention on Saturday and briskly ratified former president Goodluck Jonathan as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

The move was after the group was barred by the police from accessing the A Class Hotel in Abuja, initially rented for its convention.

The event, which did not last more than 20 minutes, had an ally of Jonathan, Fred Agbedi, who received the certificate on behalf of the former president.

Other dignitaries present at the event included Prof Jerry Gana, Tanimu Turaki, Adolphus Wabara, and several others who are loyal to Turaki.

The police had used several of their vans to completely block the two access roads leading off from the Wuse and Maitama axis, into the premises of the previously rented event centre.

The blockage deprived access to both PDP members loyal to Turaki and other road users who have nothing to do with the planned convention

The development comes following Friday’s warning to hotels and event centres by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, not to allow illegal political parties or organisations to use their resources for the sake of security in the FCT.

In response, the PDP, in a statement, accused Wike of attempting to halt its planned event.

According to the statement, the party said the management of A Class Event Centre informed it that pressure was being mounted on the venue to stop the gathering from taking place.

The PDP said it had already paid for the venue and fulfilled all conditions required for the programme.

The party also said security agencies had been notified of the convention scheduled for Saturday, May 30, 2026, in Wuse 2, Abuja.

The party insisted that the convention would proceed despite what it described as intimidation. (ChannelsTV)

Activist Aisha Yesufu has accused the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) of subverting the process for selecting the party’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) senatorial candidate, saying she could not compromise her values in a process she described as unjust.

Yesufu made the allegation in a statement issued on Friday night, hours after announcing that the party would not be conducting primaries for the FCT Senate seat, effectively ending her bid for the ticket.

The activist had declared her intention to contest the race on May 6 after joining the NDC from the African Democratic Congress (ADC), saying her decision was inspired by the leadership experience she gained in her former party.

Her declaration came amid growing speculation that the party had already resolved to hand the FCT Senate ticket to another aspirant, Amanda Pam, who had been a member of the party before Yesufu joined.

Addressing supporters earlier on Friday, Yesufu urged them to remain calm and focus on the broader political objective ahead of the 2027 general election.

In a subsequent statement, however, she alleged that the process leading to the emergence of the party’s candidate was marred by injustice and violations of electoral guidelines.

“I understood what I was getting into. I knew that the quality of our politics has not yet risen to the occasion, that values-based candidates do not easily emerge by merit in a system built to resist them,” she said.

“But I made a decision going in: I would not compromise my values. I would stand for what is right. I did not leave advocacy to go into politics. I took advocacy into politics.”

Yesufu said she built her campaign on grassroots credibility and argued that the strength of her “SAY-Nation” movement altered the course of the party’s decision-making process.

According to her, the team became so formidable that the selection process “had to be taken out of the open and resolved through a clandestine affirmation behind closed doors.”

She further alleged that “what was billed as a primary was, in truth, a predetermined outcome dressed in procedural formalities”.

The activist claimed that the FCT senate primary process was repeatedly delayed, with venues changed at the last minute and party guidelines ignored.

“The delegate-based process was introduced to be conducted at a central location instead of direct primaries at Local Government headquarters,” she claimed.

“When the moment came, the contest was not decided by delegates in the open; it was affirmed in a closed room, away from the people whose voices it was supposed to reflect.”

She added that while the party may present the exercise as transparent, the events surrounding the process did not reflect fairness.

“The party may go on to release statements about the free and fair nature of the primary, but the facts that transpired, when weighed against conscience and the guidelines of the Electoral Act, do not reflect justice and fairness,” she said.

Explaining why she did not immediately challenge the outcome, Yesufu said she preferred to learn from the experience rather than become entangled in a lengthy grievance process.

“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. I chose instead to extract every lesson this experience had to offer,” she said.

“I now understand the architecture of the system in ways no textbook, no punditry, no amount of outside observation could ever teach.

“That knowledge is worth more than any petition I could have filed. I leave this process with something far more valuable than a ticket; I leave with clarity.”

Yesufu stressed that her account was limited to her experience in the FCT Senate contest and should not be interpreted as a reflection of events in other states.

Despite her criticisms, she maintained confidence in the party’s broader political role ahead of the 2027 elections.

“Despite its shortcomings, the NDC remains the only party that has given the best presidential candidate in the 2027 electoral cycle a platform to run,” she said.

The NDC had not issued an official response to the allegations as of the time of filing this report.Featured

…Defeats Chinyeaka Ohaa, Gilbert Nnaji

Prof. James Ene-Nwannaji has emerged as the governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 governorship election in Enugu State.

Ene-Nwannaji was declared winner of the party’s governorship primary election conducted across the 17 local government areas of the state on Friday.

He defeated other aspirants in the contest, including Chief Chinyeaka Ohaa and Senator Gilbert Nnaji.

Secretary of the NDC in Enugu State, Dr. Sebastine Okafor, who announced the outcome to journalists, said the exercise was conducted in line with the directive of the party’s national secretariat.

Okafor stated that the primary elections were peaceful and complied with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2026.

According to him, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) monitored the exercise across the state.

The party also announced the winners of its senatorial primaries in the three senatorial districts of the state.

Dr. Chika Obetta emerged as the candidate for Enugu North Senatorial District, while Dr.  Celelia Ikechukwu clinched the ticket for Enugu East Senatorial District. Ugochi Ohajekwe was declared winner of the Enugu West Senatorial District primary.

Similarly, the party unveiled some of its candidates for the House of Representatives election.

Dr. Stephen Ugwoke emerged as candidate for Nsukka/Igboeze South Federal Constituency, while Barr. Chimezie Nwodo secured the ticket for Nkanu East/Nkanu West Federal Constituency.

Kene Nnadi emerged candidate for Enugu North/Enugu South Federal Constituency, while Comrade Felix Ijegalu won the ticket for Udi/Ezeagu Federal Constituency.

Onyebuchi Nwabueze also emerged as candidate for Igbo-Etiti/Uzo-Uwani Federal Constituency.

The party said the names of the remaining House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates would be released later.

Reacting to the outcome of the primaries, the Chairman of the NDC in Enugu State, Dr. Johnpaul Ani, described the exercise as transparent and well-organised.

“It was conducted in line with the guidelines of the party and in compliance with the Electoral Act 2026.

“The conduct across the state was peaceful and it shows a party that is interested in winning elections. You can see the calibre of candidates we elected; these are people with character.

“They are vibrant, they are young and well positioned to win the main election,” Ani said.

He urged aspirants who did not emerge victorious to accept the outcome of the exercise and work with the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“We are using this opportunity to tell those who did not emerge to accept the outcome and work together with the party to win the general elections.

“All eyes now should be on the bigger election, which is coming up in January 2027,” he added.