Adamawa NDC Crisis Deepens As Babachir Lawal, Sen Aisha Clash

The crisis within the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the North East has deepened following a war of words between former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, and the Adamawa State governorship candidate of the party, Senator Aisha.

Lawal, in a post on his Facebook page on Monday, reacted to reports that six governorship candidates of the NDC were protesting his membership of the party and his appointment as leader of the party in the North East.

He alleged that the protest was being orchestrated by a female governorship aspirant of the party in Adamawa State.

“My attention has been drawn to a trending story on social media to the effect that six so-called gubernatorial candidates of the Nigeria Democratic Congress are protesting my joining the party and my appointment as the Leader of the Party in the North Eastern Zone of the party. I have it on good authority that the charade is being led and organized by a female pretender to the governorship candidacy of Adamawa State,” Lawal wrote.

The former SGF said two of the candidates, Professor Mohammed Sani Yahaya of Taraba and Dr Babayo Ardo of Gombe, had reached out to him to dissociate themselves from the protest, claiming their names and signatures were inserted without their authority.

Lawal maintained that his membership of the NDC poses a threat to those working for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar within the party.

“I know that my joining the NDC at this stage poses a major threat to those working for Atiku from within the NDC as subversives of the Peter/Kwankwaso ticket. Thanks to God they have now of their own free will exposed themselves and the voters in the North East have taken note,” he said.

He said he did not solicit the zonal leadership position but accepted it in good faith out of respect for Senator Dickson, Mr Obi and Kwankwaso, describing the Peter Obi/Rabiu Kwankwaso ticket as having a massive lead in the North East and North Central.

Lawal also accused the Adamawa candidate of nominating and paying for all legislative candidates of the party in the state for the 2027 elections, adding that he saw little evidence of NDC activity during his visit to Adamawa between August 25 and September 10.

In a swift response, the Senator Aisha Gubernatorial Campaign Organization described Lawal’s statement as “highly erratic, abusive, and self-serving.”

In a statement signed by its Media Directorate, the campaign said it would ordinarily not respond to the outburst but needed to correct what it called falsehoods and gender-based attacks.

“It is highly laughable that an individual who claims to have been handed a ‘holding position’ by proxies can arrogantly refer to duly elected, high-stakes gubernatorial candidates — the actual faces of the party on the ballot — as ‘nincompoops’ and ‘so-called candidates.’ A true leader builds bridges; they do not enter a zone by throwing insults at the very candidates who have spent their resources keeping the party alive,” the campaign stated.

The organization said Lawal contradicted himself by admitting that Senator Aisha single-handedly funded the party’s structure in Adamawa by paying for 25 House of Assembly, 8 House of Representatives and 3 Senatorial candidates, yet claiming there was no evidence of party activity in the state.

“How can a person who funded the entire structural ticket of a party in a state be accused of ‘sabotaging’ the same party? If BD spent his short visit between August 25 and September 10 inside air-conditioned hotel rooms rather than consulting the local party structure, he cannot blame his blindness on Senator Aisha. Politics is local, not a sightseeing tour,” it said.

It dismissed Lawal’s allegation that the six governorship candidates were moles for external interests, describing it as “a cheap, desperate, and outdated blackmail tactic.”

The campaign also accused Lawal of lacking the temperament for zonal leadership, citing his use of what it called crude and misogynistic language against a female leader.

“We assure all NDC members and the voting public in Adamawa State and the North East that Senator Aisha remains focused, resolute, and fully committed to a landslide victory for herself, the national ticket, and all legislative candidates in the 2027 elections,” the statement added.

“We advise BD to humble himself, reacquaint himself with the proper organs of the party, and apologize to the candidates he has insulted if he truly wishes to be of any value to the campaign. The train has already left the station, and no amount of media tantrums will derail our grassroots movement.”