Kaduna NDC Winner Rakiya Decries Alleged Bid to Replace Her with Obidient Coordinator's Son

Rakiya Baba Mohammed, a candidate vying for a seat in the Kaduna State House of Assembly under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) banner for the Kawo Constituency, has leveled serious accusations against her party’s leadership. She claims they are attempting to invalidate her victory in the recent primary election and deny her the party’s nomination ticket.

According to Rakiya, party officials are actively working to substitute her with Yunusa Mohammed Salisu, the aspirant she decisively defeated in the primary election held on May 29, 2026. She alleges that this move is being orchestrated under the influence of Yunusa Tanko, who serves as the Interim National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide. The Obidient Movement is a prominent, youth-driven political support group that gained significant traction during the 2023 general elections, largely backing the former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

In statements made on her X account on Saturday and later confirmed during a phone conversation with SaharaReporters on Sunday, Rakiya detailed her electoral success. She secured 225 votes in the primary, while her competitor, Yunusa Mohammed Salisu, garnered 132 votes. She emphasized that these results were properly recorded and officially endorsed by the Returning Officer, an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) representative, and a security official present at the venue. The primary election proceeded smoothly in four wards, but proceedings in the fifth ward, Badarawa/Malali, were reportedly disrupted by thugs, leading to its cancellation.

“On the 29th of May 2026, myself and Yunusa Mohammed Salisu participated in our primary elections, where I emerged victorious with 225 votes, while he scored 132 votes,” Rakiya stated. She further elaborated on the disruptions: “The elections were concluded peacefully in four wards. However, in the fifth ward, which is Badarawa/Malali, Yunusa brought in thugs who are widely known across Kaduna, including unregistered and recycled members from previous wards where elections had already been concluded, as well as underage individuals.”

She continued, “INEC officials did not show up, and the available security personnel were insufficient to control the situation. Their actions prevented the election from taking place in that ward and it was therefore cancelled.” Rakiya confirmed that she was issued the official election results immediately after the primary, complete with endorsements from the Returning Officer, an INEC official, and a security representative.

Curiously, Rakiya alleged that her opponent publicly declared himself the winner shortly after the primary, despite the certified results. “Shortly after the elections, Yunusa made a post on social media claiming that he had won the election, which I chose to ignore,” she recounted. She initially received a congratulatory call from Mordecai Ibrahim, the NDC Kaduna State Chairman, on May 30, and continued her post-election consultations as usual.

However, the situation took a turn when party stakeholders reportedly informed her of an alleged alteration to the primary election results. “A few days ago, I received a call from party stakeholders in Kaduna informing me that they had been asked to go to Abuja regarding the nomination forms,” she explained. “The stakeholders travelled to Abuja and were informed that the results had been changed, and that the Kaduna State Chairman had been instructed to give my nomination form to Yunusa Tanko's son, who happens to be my co-aspirant.”

Questioning the NDC’s commitment to internal democracy, Rakiya expressed her disbelief: “I find it difficult to believe that this aligns with the principles and values of Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Seriake Dickson and the NDC party as a whole. I expect the party to do the right thing by giving me my nomination form, as I won my primary election and I have evidence to support this.”

She further accused party leaders of attempting to impose a candidate with a history of electoral failures. “Yunusa Tanko, who is the coordinator of the Obidient Movement in Nigeria, is allegedly attempting to hand this opportunity to his son, who has contested twice in Kaduna and was unsuccessful,” she claimed. “The first time his son contested in Kaduna, he sold his ticket to an opposition party, and the second time he contested, he lost. How does NDC expect this same person to secure votes for the party?”

During her Sunday interview with SaharaReporters, Rakiya voiced her frustration, asking why she wasn't informed earlier if the ticket was already reserved. “If they had told me that the seat has been reserved for someone, I wouldn't have gone through the stress of campaigning throughout the political wards in the constituency and standing for an election,” she lamented. “Now after winning, you decided to tell me that the ticket I have won will be given to someone else that contested with me and lost in the primary. How does it sound?”

Explaining her decision to publicize the matter, she stated her fear that silence would allow party officials to quietly hand over her mandate. “So I thought about it. I consulted elder statesmen and stakeholders of the party. Everybody at this point is tired. They don't know what's happening with the internal structure of the party,” she said. “I'm like, no, I'm not going to just sit back. If I sit down, the next thing I'll see is that they've given the boy the nomination form after all my stress. Twitter is the best place for me to bring it. If I bring it to Twitter, Twitter is global. Everybody in Nigeria, in fact the whole world, will get to see. Even if they want to cheat me at the end of the day, people will know that I brought this out first.”

Rakiya also alleged that her rival received preferential treatment, including being given his form for free, unlike other aspirants who paid mandatory fees. “When I went to buy my expression of interest form, they told me there were fees to pay to the party. I paid my fees,” she stated. “There were party contributions I needed to make before screening. I did all of that. This boy, I was told, was handed the form for free. He didn't pay any administrative charges.”

Furthermore, she claimed that members of the screening committee privately informed her that Yunusa Salisu lacked crucial mandatory documents. “It was later I was hearing that he didn't even have tax clearance,” she revealed. “Someone in the screening committee confided in me and told me. Before I even bought my form, I called the Kaduna State Chairman and asked him whether tax clearance was a necessary document before screening, and he said yes.”

Expressing her deep disappointment, Rakiya accused party officials of attempting to impose an unqualified candidate despite her legitimate victory. “So how can someone not have tax clearance and because of your selfish interest or because of how much they paid you, you still allowed him to contest?” she queried. “That's fine, we went for primary elections. I still won. Now you still want to steal my mandate to give it to an incompetent person. I said no, I'm not going to sit back.” She concluded by emphasizing that women in politics should not be silenced or marginalized. “They are used to having women come out and not have a voice. They suppress them,” she said. “I'm like no. I grew up in England. Nobody is going to come and suppress me. It's not going to work. I'm going to voice out and I'm going to make sure I wash their dirty linen outside. You can't cheat me out of what I rightfully deserve. Why?”