Ahead of the 2027 elections, former governorship aspirant of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Philip Johnson, has resigned from the party, alleging that the governorship primary election in Taraba State was manipulated against him.
In a resignation letter addressed to the Taraba State Chairman of the NDC, Johnson claimed that he legitimately won the party’s governorship primary election conducted across the state’s 16 local government areas but was later denied victory through what he described as an alteration of results.
According to him, the primary election was conducted peacefully and transparently, with the collation of results indicating that he emerged victorious.
However, he alleged that at the point of official declaration, the party’s congress panel announced that the final results would be declared in Abuja on the directive of the National Secretariat.
Johnson further alleged that the outcome was subsequently changed in favour of another aspirant whom he claimed to have defeated at the polls.
The former aspirant stated that he pursued all available internal mechanisms within the party to seek redress but received no response from the leadership.
He accused the party of abandoning the principles of justice, fairness, and democratic values upon which it was founded, lamenting that the declared candidate continued to enjoy the support of the party leadership while his complaints were ignored.
“It is unfortunate that a party which presented itself as a platform for progressive change and democratic values has chosen to embrace the very practices it was expected to reject,” he stated in the letter.
Johnson, who joined the NDC in April 2026 alongside his supporters, announced that his resignation takes immediate effect.
The development is expected to trigger fresh political debates within the NDC and could have significant implications for the party’s fortunes in Taraba State as preparations for the next election cycle gather momentum.
As of the time of filing this report, the leadership of the NDC has neither issued an official response to the allegations raised by Johnson nor announced who won the governorship primary election in Taraba State.