The Nigeria Democratic Congress has disowned a purported governorship ticket bearing the name of Senator Danjuma La’ah, saying the document circulating online did not come from the party.
The party’s Deputy National Chairman, North, Alhaji Sidi Abdul Bomi, made the clarification during a telephone conversation with The Punch over the weekend.
His statement comes amid an ongoing dispute over the party’s choice of governorship candidate for Kaduna State, with Mohammed Abbas and La’ah associated with rival claims to the ticket.
Bomi maintained that the document allegedly showing La’ah as the party’s candidate was not authentic and should not be regarded as proof of his emergence as the NDC’s flag bearer.
Abbas, who has continued to claim the party’s ticket, said the party’s national leadership had already addressed the controversy.
“The Deputy National Chairman said Senator La’ah’s NDC governorship ticket circulating on social media is false,” Abbas said.
According to him, the document was also presented to the party’s national secretary, who expressed doubts about its authenticity.
“When it was sent to the national secretary, he said, ‘I think it should be a false document,’” Abbas quoted the national secretary as saying.
Abbas explained that he followed the party’s stipulated nomination process, including obtaining the governorship nomination form, undergoing screening and participating in the primary election.
“The party set up a primary election committee to conduct the primaries. They came to Kaduna, conducted the primaries and wrote their report that I won,” he said.
He further claimed that the party had formally submitted his name as its governorship candidate.
“The party has already uploaded my name. There is no way to become a candidate without going through the process, except you are a replacement,” Abbas said.
Abbas also disputed any suggestion that La’ah participated in the process that produced him as the party’s candidate, saying the former senator was neither screened nor present at the primary.
“He wasn’t screened. If he was screened, it must have been privately because we didn’t see him at the screening venue. And he didn’t come for the primaries.
“So how do you give the ticket to a person who didn’t participate in the primaries?” he said.
The NDC candidate said he was among those who brought La’ah into the party, arguing that the former lawmaker initially joined with the intention of pursuing the Kaduna South senatorial seat rather than the governorship.
“I brought him to the NDC. He was looking for the Senate seat. He wasn’t looking for the governorship seat,” Abbas said.
La’ah, a former representative of Kaduna South Senatorial District in the Senate, has yet to be identified by the party leadership as its governorship candidate based on the clarification.
Abbas said he remained optimistic that La’ah could return to the senatorial contest, describing his political experience as an asset that could strengthen the party’s ticket.
“I am hoping and praying that he will take the offer that the party has for him for the Senate seat. I know he is a strong campaigner. If he takes it, he’ll add value to the ticket,” he said.
He also said he planned to reach out to La’ah and other stakeholders as part of efforts to resolve divisions within the party ahead of the 2027 election.
“I am going to be in Kafanchan for three days. I’ll reach out to all the major stakeholders. I’ll meet with the chairman first, then the ward chairmen, elders, women groups and youth groups.
“I don’t have any doubt that we are going to unify ourselves,” he said.
Abbas urged Kaduna voters to make issues such as the rising cost of living, insecurity and the difficulties faced by farmers central to their consideration ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
