The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, intended for his ally, Aisha Yesufu, to contest the AMAC/Gwari House of Representatives seat, not the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Senate seat. This clarification was made by the National Secretary of the NDC, Ikenna Enekweizu, during an interview with Channels Television's 'Politics Today' programme on Wednesday.
Obi's Preference for Yesufu
“When Peter Obi joined the party, part of what we wanted to do with him was to allow him to help us build consensus on who would be the candidate of the party for the AMAC/Gwari seat,” Enekweizu explained. “He told me personally that he wanted Aisha Yesufu to run for the House of Representatives seat of AMAC/Gwari.
“But two or three days after he said this to me, I was surprised to read on social media that Aisha is running for the Senate. We didn’t discuss that,” he added.
Consultations and Yesufu's Response
Enekweizu also detailed the efforts made to persuade Yesufu to accept the Reps seat. “The national leader of the party invited Aisha Yesufu, met with her twice, appealing to her to run for the House of Representatives,” he said. “But Aisha said she was bigger than the Reps office. She said she wanted to be a senator and nothing would stop her from going to the Senate. So we allowed her to run.”
Primary Election Outcome
“Aisha Yesufu lost the primary election. If she feels aggrieved, a lot of people who also lost the primaries in other constituencies have been reaching out to us,” Enekweizu stated. He dismissed claims that Yesufu was sidelined, revealing that other Obi allies also contested for the same ticket. “She’s not the only supporter of Peter Obi who ran for AMAC/Gwari. Twenty-three aspirants bought the expression of interest and nomination form. How do we manage them all?” he asked.
