Crisis rocks Plateau NDC as Reps aspirant alleges candidate imposition

Crisis is brewing in the Plateau chapter of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as David Dama, a leading aspirant for the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency seat accused the party leadership of abandoning internal democracy and imposing a candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Addressing journalists on Monday at a press conference in Jos, Dama alleged that no primary election was conducted to select the party’s candidate and described the process adopted by the Plateau State leadership as fraudulent, opaque and contrary to both the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.

“There was no primary election conducted in the selection of who the party is expected to present as candidate for the House of Representatives to represent the people of Jos North/Bassa. There was no definite or genuine consensus reached. Instead of a fair and democratic contest, the leadership of the party chose to manoeuvre every transparent process and traded the mandate of the people for parochial interests,” Dama alleged.

He further declared that the Plateau chapter of the NDC had become “a caricature of the old system,” accusing its leaders of imposition, impunity and lack of internal democratic accountability.

According to him, practices members opposed in other political parties had now become the norm within the NDC on the Plateau.

The aspirant also alleged that the party had been infiltrated by individuals bent on destroying it from within and questioned why the leadership failed to conduct direct primaries to allow members choose who would fly the party’s flag.

He described the development as “a moral failure, an administrative catastrophe and a direct insult” to loyal party members.

Dama, however, urged his supporters, particularly youths, women and grassroots mobilisers, to remain calm, peaceful and law-abiding, assuring them that the movement they had built across the constituency would not be derailed by what he termed “administrative dictators” within the party.

He called on the national leadership of the NDC to intervene and review what he described as a fraudulent selection process, adding that he and his supporters were consulting widely and would soon announce their next political move while remaining committed to ensuring that the voice of Jos North/Bassa is heard in the 2027 elections.