2027: How Duke emerged as PRP presidential flag bearer
Ufere Campaign Demands Fresh Election, Questions Duke’s Victory
By Clifford Ndujihe & Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA — Former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke secured the presidential nomination of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) on Monday, just days after joining the party. He will represent the PRP in the 2027 general elections.
PRP National Chairman Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed announced Duke’s victory at the party’s national secretariat, stating that he received 6,499 votes in the primary election. His closest competitor, Kingsley Yakubu, garnered 2,699 votes, while Dr. Nnaoke Ufere, an academic and policy expert, finished with 784 votes.
Baba-Ahmed characterized the electoral process as free and credible, urging any dissatisfied candidates to seek redress through the party’s Appeal Committee.
However, the Ufere Campaign has rejected the results, claiming manipulation of the votes in favor of Duke. In a statement issued by Ishaq Alhassan, Executive Director of the Ufere2027 Presidential Campaign, the organization cited discrepancies in the voting numbers that they argue exceed the membership limits recorded with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The campaign asserted that in Gombe, for example, 348 registered members allegedly produced 1,431 votes, representing a 311 percent inflation rate. Similar patterns were observed in other states, leading Ufere’s campaign to conclude that a total of 1,277 ballots were associated with no eligible voters on the party’s official INEC-approved list.
“A register is a ceiling,” the statement emphasized. “Turnout cannot exceed 100 percent of the people allowed to vote. Every vote beyond the register is, by definition, a vote that should never have been counted.”
The Ufere campaign also mentioned that Duke, who joined the party just days before the primaries, was reportedly abroad during the election, while Ufere had actively campaigned across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Furthermore, the campaign accused party insiders of indicating that the results were intentionally skewed and raised concerns over possible plans for Duke to run alongside Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, the brother of the PRP National Chairman.
The campaign rejected attempts to modify the governing membership register after the primaries, noting a significant increase in registered members shortly before the election. They have called for a forensic audit of the voter counts and an independent investigation into the alleged vote manipulation.
The Ufere2027 Campaign is demanding the immediate suspension of the election results and a comprehensive review of the voting process, asserting that the integrity of the PRP must be upheld.
“The Peoples Redemption Party was built on a tradition of principled, accountable politics. That tradition is not honored by a primary in which the votes outnumber the voters,” they stated, adding that the discrepancies must be addressed transparently.
The situation continues to develop as the party navigates these allegations and prepares for the upcoming elections.
