By Chinedu Echianu
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the South-East Geopolitical Zone of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has accused the party’s national leadership of attempting to manipulate the process for selecting its candidate for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on behalf of the group, the South-East FCT Chairman, Maxwell Igbokwe, alleged that the party leadership was seeking to impose a candidate instead of following the constitutionally prescribed process of direct primaries or a valid consensus.
The group said the NDC, established in February 2026 following a court order, was founded on the principles of transparency and internal democracy, adding that the alleged actions of the party leadership contradict those ideals.
According to the group, the party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, had publicly stated that he and the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, offered the AMAC/Bwari House of Representatives ticket to Aisha Yesufu despite her not applying for the position. The group claimed that Yesufu declined the offer.
The group further alleged that the party’s National Secretary, Ikenna Enekweizu, recently reiterated the claim, stating that Peter Obi requested the inclusion of Yesufu’s name as the party’s candidate for the constituency, but that she again declined because no primary election had been conducted.
According to the group, subsequent investigations indicated that the party leadership had alternated between the names of Grimer and Uchenna Harris Okonkwo as preferred candidates for the same constituency.
The group also claimed that Okonkwo, who currently represents Idemili North and South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, lost his primary election in Anambra State, questioning what it described as attempts to “foist strangers” on the people of AMAC/Bwari.
It argued that such actions, if true, would amount to a breach of the NDC constitution, the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act, warning that candidate imposition could undermine public confidence in the party, weaken its electoral prospects and trigger avoidable legal disputes.
The South-East FCT chapter maintained that the incumbent lawmaker representing AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency, Joshua Chinedu-Obika, secured overwhelming endorsement from party members across all 22 wards in the constituency and also received the consensus backing of the majority of fellow aspirants.
The group therefore called on the NDC leadership to immediately recognise Obika as the party’s candidate for the AMAC/Bwari House of Representatives seat.
The NDC leadership had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
