Former SGF Babachir Lawal dismissed protests by six NDC gubernatorial candidates over his appointment as party leader in the North EastLawal alleged that two of the signatories, Prof Mohammed Sani Yahaya and Dr Babayo Ardo, denied authorising their signatures on the protest documentThe former SGF accused a female Adamawa governorship aspirant of leading the protest to undermine the Obi/Kwankwaso 2027 campaignPAY ATTENTION: Find it fast with our new search feature at Legit.ng! Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir David Lawal has hit back at six Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) gubernatorial candidates who publicly protested his joining the party and his appointment as its leader in the North Eastern Zone.Lawal said he was aware that the opposition was being coordinated by a woman he described as a “female pretender” to the Adamawa State governorship ticket. He did not name her directly in most of the statement but later made clear he was referring to Senator Aisha.This was contained in a statement released via his Facebook page on Monday, September 28, 2026.Lawal revealed that two of the signatories to the protest document, Professor Mohammed Sani Yahaya of Taraba State and Dr Babayo Ardo of Gombe State, had personally contacted him to say their names and signatures were included without their knowledge or consent.Lawal accuses protesters of working against Obi/KwankwasoThe former SGF said his appointment came at the initiative of the NDC national leadership, including Senator Dickson, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Kwankwaso, and that no formal request was made on his part before the announcement. PAY ATTENTION: From breaking news to viral moments.
Follow Legit.ng on Instagram!He said he accepted the role in good faith out of respect for those leaders, having previously chaired the 12-member Planning, Strategy and Implementation team for the 2023 Obi/Kwankwaso presidential campaign.Lawal accused some of the protesting candidates of acting as agents for Atiku Abubakar, working from within the NDC to sabotage the Obi/Kwankwaso ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.He argued that his presence in the party posed a direct threat to those he described as “wolves in sheep’s skin.”He also cast doubt on the seriousness of the Adamawa governorship aspirant leading the protest.Lawal said he organised professors’ time in the state between August 25 and September 10 and found no meaningful NDC activity across all 21 local government areas, except for a single tattered poster in Gombi belonging to a House of Representatives candidate.Lawal calls on NDC members to stay focusedLawal said the NDC national leadership, not gubernatorial candidates, held the authority to determine party leadership appointments. He urged NDC supporters in the North East to ignore what he called “fifth columnists” and concentrate on delivering victory for all party candidates in the 2027 elections, covering House of Assembly, House of Representatives, and Senate seats across six states.He warned that those disrupting party unity would only harm themselves and asked voters to remain at polling units on election day to monitor sorting, counting, and collation of results until the process was fully completed.Peter Obi left the African Democratic Congress on May 2, 2026, and was ratified as the NDC presidential candidate on May 29, 2026. Source: Legit.ng Adekunle Dada (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Adekunle Dada is a Politics and Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a B.Sc. in Mass Communication from Lagos State University, Ojo, and brings over eight years of professional media experience to his role.
He has spent his career refining his craft at PM News, The Sun, and Within Nigeria. In 2024, he earned a certification in advanced digital reporting from the Google News Initiative. He can be reached at adekunle.dada@corp.legit.ng Adamawa State Us embassy Maduka okoye University of ibadan Regina hall Naruto female characters
