National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Seriake Dickson, has said the movement of Peter Obi and Rabi’u Kwankwaso into the party did not happen overnight.

Dickson, who fielded questions in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’ on Wednesday, said he had worked with the duo as former governors.

He said many Nigerians believed in the NDC and thanked them for their trust, confidence and continued support for the young party.

Recall that Peter Obi and Kwankwaso dumped the African Democratic Congress, for the NDC early last month, citing internal divisions and court cases in ADC.

It was reported that the party’s ticket for President and Vice President ahead of the 2027 general elections has been picked by both former governors.

“We also brought two of the most influential political figures in the country, Peter Obi and Kwankwaso onto our platform.

These are people I have worked with for a long time, so this convergence within the NDC did not happen overnight.

“We have been able to attract strong membership and win the confidence of my colleagues including former governors and other distinguished Nigerian political leaders.

“Many Nigerians believe in us and I want to thank them for their trust, confidence and continued support,” he said.

The post Peter Obi, Kwankwaso’s Move To NDC Didn’t Happen Overnight – Dickson appeared first on TheNigerian.

Kenneth Okonkwo, a Nollywood actor turned politician, has accused the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi and some party leaders in the South-East of collecting bribes during the party’s recent primary elections.

Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was reported to have made the allegation during an interview on Channels Television.

He had said he received a “SOS message” from a House of Representatives aspirant in Anambra State alleging irregularities and bribery in the conduct of the NDC primaries.

The former Labour Party chieftain claimed that “whoever votes for Obi and the NDC in 2027 is voting criminality.

Okonkwo named the alleged whistle-blower as Obunike Ohaegbu who, according to him, sought to contest for the Nnewi North and Nnewi South Federal Constituency seat in Anambra State on the platform of the NDC.

He alleged that the aspirant complained that the candidates were duped in the process and made to pay money after they were initially told that only expression of interest forms were needed at the first stage.

The aspirants had said aspirants were assured that nomination fees would only be paid after candidates emerged, according to Okonkwo.

Okonkwo said, “The NDC aspirant sent SOS to me and said that Peter Obi is now the head of the criminality that they were scammed in NDC.

He said Kwankwaso went to his people and made sure that every constituency produced one candidate so that they are not scammed, but Peter Obi told them that all the aspirants should go into the field, and the aspirants were told that they were going to have primaries.

₦10,000,000, ₦20,000,000 Allegation of Bribery
Okonkwo also claimed that the aspirants in the South-East were later asked to pay more before the primaries.

He said House of Representatives aspirants were allegedly asked to pay ₦10m while senatorial aspirants were asked to pay ₦20m.

He said: “Remember that Dickson said once you pay for your expression of interest form, you are not going to pay any money, when you are the one who is nominated, that is when you will pay nomination fees.”

“They all ran into it then Peter Obi and leaders of the South-East, NDC caucus, went and told them that after paying for the expression of interest forms, you must pay ₦10 million bribe for Reps and Senate, ₦20 million.

They all paid, thinking they were the candidates. Then they were told to go for the primary.

Names Supposedly Written In Hotel
The ADC chieftain also alleged that while aspirants were taking part in the primaries, names of candidates were already written elsewhere.

He said Obi was in a hotel at the time when names of preferred candidates were being put together.

“Whilst they were doing the primaries, Peter Obi was in the John Wood hotel writing names of candidates,” Okonkwo alleged.

“The aspirant forwarded me the receipt of the money.”

Okonkwo did not say in the interview if the alleged receipts had been submitted to any law enforcement agency or electoral body.

At the time of filing this report Obi and the leadership of the NDC had not responded to the allegations.

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A Senatorial aspirant for Edo South on the platform of the NDC, Ehiozuwa Agbonayinwa has identified the issue facing the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC.

Agbonayinwa has been outspoken about his purported exclusion from getting the party’s ticket for the senatorial district, which he said he won after the NDC primary elections held on May 29.

The ex-House of Representatives member is one of the disgruntled members of the party that are not happy with the way the party’s leadership has handled the candidate selection process.

Reports said the NDC has not yet published the results of the primary elections for the Senate, House of Representatives, state governors and state legislatures.

Agbonayinwa said on Arise News on Friday that the biggest problem in the NDC is that the party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, is forcing his will on everyone.

“I think what is wrong is that one man cannot determine for the whole NDC. You have your national leader, you have your national chairman, a senator of reput, a wonderful guy, a great guy. I admire him.

“You have the secretary, Barrister Ikenna, good people. You have the national public secretary, they are great men but at the same time we have the National Organising Secretary, wonderful people working day and night, but you guess what? One man cannot decide for the future of members of NDC.

“So to me, I cannot be going to the leader’s house every day waiting from morning till night. This isn’t democracy, for God’s sake. This is not democratic.

“Democracy is of the people, by the people. You have to let the people decide their faith, I won the senatorial seat. No two ways about that.

“Why didn’t they announce the result for God’s sake? Primary was May 29th, this is June 5th. What are they hiding?”

“He said they are featuring one lady, that the lady is going to give affirmation, that they need a woman to be among the senator.

You don’t do that. We went to the primaries and those who won should be given a chance. “I won, I deserve a shot.”

The post NDC: Agbonayinwa Tells Seriake Dickson, “You Can’t Dictate for Everyone” appeared first on TheNigerian.

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has expressed doubt on the electoral strength of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking in an interview with Symfoni TV, Bwala said he was worried that Peter Obi, who is expected to fly the flag of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), could attract more votes than Atiku in the next general election.

He said another possibility that worries him is the chance of Atiku finishing far behind other contenders in the race.

He said that would affect the legacy of the former vice president’s political career, especially if it’s his last run for the presidency.

It was reported that Bwala pointed to the difference between the political support base of Atiku in 2023 and the situation ahead of 2027.

He said that in the last presidential election, Atiku had the backing of several governors, senators and members of the House of Representatives within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“But the political environment is not the same now. Atiku does not have the same support of powerful political figures,” he said.

No governor is currently standing behind the former vice president, he said, as the preparations for the next election gradually pick up.

“I fear Peter Obi might get more votes than Atiku Abubakar in the 2027 election and my other fear is that he might come a distant fourth.

“If that happens, his legacy as a politician in his last attempt could be impacted.

“The PDP has some governors, senators and Reps who stood by him in the 2023 election but, as at now, there is not one governor supporting him.

“The fact is that Atiku Abubakar has never in his political career commanded more votes from the North-West.

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Former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Datti Baba-Ahmed has described his former principal, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar as not opposition leaders but office seekers.

Baba-Ahmed made the statement on Thursday while responding to questions on Trust TV.

He was talking about the upcoming 2027 general elections and the prospects of the opposition political parties.

“Peter Obi was my boss and he still remains my boss. We still have a good relationship and I hope we can somehow do something together in the very near future.

“Because I would rather move away from the individuals, speak about the variables in Nigeria politics. The variables is that most of us refer to them as opposition.

“Peter Obi and Atiku are not opposition, but mere office seekers. Opposition is active, actually technically taking on the mis-ruling government every action. You come out not only when it is time to seek certain office.

“Left to me, from right about 2023, Peter Obi and everybody else should have continued that tempo I started about constitutional breach.

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Kenneth Okonkwo, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, says any vote for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is a vote for president Bola Tinubu.

Okonkwo told Symfoni in an interview.

He said, “You are either working for Tinubu directly or indirectly because when you divide the votes of some of the coalition or the opposition, you are still making Tinubu to win.

“No one forced Peter Obi to join the ADC. He went himself. One week to the end of the closure of time, he went out and gave reasons. What was that reason?

‘You can’t compete in primaries and you want to be a president of a challenged country.

“Let me tell you the truth, in 2027, anyone who votes for Peter Obi is voting for Tinubu. “Don’t say I didn’t tell you.

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Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has said that the opposition parties have ruined their journey to oust President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election.

There are many presidential candidates that have emerged and Nigerians are expecting more than three horse race, including Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Seyi Makinde of the Allied People Movement (APM), Kachikwu Dumebi of the ADC faction, Esther Okereke of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Omoyele Sowore, among others.

Speaking on the recent development within the opposition parties, Fayose, in an interview with Channels Television, said if the opposition was united, Tinubu would have got a run for his money.

Fayose said that President Tinubu is going unopposed in the coming election

“Nobody is contesting against Tinubu,” he said. You may not like to hear this, but you Reality differs from noise on social media.

“If the opposition coalition had held together and they are to be in one party against Tinubu, I will say Tinubu will have a run for his money.

“Tinubu is like every Nigerian leader that I believe in but let me tell you, the moment that they have NDC, and they have ADC, initially they were saying Tinubu was pushing for a one-party state now there are so many parties, they have destroyed their journey by themselves.

“You remember when Atiku and Obi ran, it was a great three-way contest and Tinubu got his way, and I’m telling you again, Tinubu will get his way with ease.”

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Academic and political economist, Pat Utomi, said that former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, made a strategic and timely decision by leaving the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which he described as a necessary escape from a compromised political process.

Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Utomi said the recent controversies within the ADC further cemented fears that the internal processes of the party were already skewed. He said political manoeuvring by influential actors has increasingly undermined the credibility of party primaries in Nigeria.

“In the light of hindsight… it was almost a foregone conclusion that it was going to go in a particular direction. So it was a pretty smart move on his part,” he added.

Utomi said he was out of the country when Obi’s political realignment took place and was not aware of the plans beforehand. He said he had initially advised political actors aligned with Obi to stay within the ADC and test their strength via internal competition.

“I was out of the country when the move happened. I didn’t know about the plans,” he said, adding that he had previously argued that remaining within the party would have been the best way to challenge internal structures.

However, he said the developments within the ADC suggested deeper issues with internal democracy, which, in his view, validated Obi’s decision to exit.

“But I was also very aware of games that were being played… a very undemocratic kind of process being used to prevent a certain candidate from being on the ballot,” he said.

He added that at the time of the election, polling data indicated that Obi had good chances of winning a party ticket if a transparent process had been allowed. But power brokers often trump such results, he said.
“Party hierarchies and bosses” have turned internal elections into a “make-believe democratic process,” he said.

In the interview, Utomi also took the opportunity to underscore wider issues with Nigeria’s political system, which he said invariably stifles talent, while promoting recycled political actors without new ideas or any record of performance.

“What we have done is to continue this process within the Big Tent to do a manifesto for Nigeria,” he said, explaining that the initiative would focus on identifying credible candidates across party lines based on competence and vision rather than party affiliation.

The movement will back candidates who commit to governance reforms, regardless of their political platform, he said.

The scholar also criticised Nigeria’s political culture, saying it is too much driven by ambition for office and not service. This attitude has sapped the strength of opposition politics and helped lead to national stagnation, he argued.

“This obsession with power and public office is a disease,” he said, calling for a fundamental change in political attitudes.

On electoral reforms, Utomi said the issue of live transmission of results from polling units was an initiative of the Big Tent and not the NDC as reported in some quarters. “The plan is still being developed as part of a broader effort to strengthen transparency through multiple independent monitoring channels,” he said.

He also called for tighter regulations on political defections, saying that frequent party switching erodes accountability and weakens democratic institutions.

While criticising the system, Utomi said Nigeria still has the capacity for renewal if competent leadership is allowed to emerge through credible processes.

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The Arewa Consultative Forum, AFC, has rejected in strong terms the one term promise by the presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi.

The Forum was also reported to have delivered a poor performance verdict on the President Bola Tinubu-led government after three years in office.

ACF, a socio-cultural and quasi-political association that promotes the political interest of Northern Nigeria, said Obi’s promises are unconstitutional and do not only undermine nation’s democracy.

The ACF’s position contributes to the growing debate on the pledge of the NDC presidential candidate and its implications for regional power dynamics ahead of the next general elections.

Obi was said to have vowed to serve only one term of four years if elected in 2027, saying that four years is enough for a sincere leader to change the country for the better.

In an interview on national TV, the ex-governor of Anambra state maintained that he would serve only a single term in office and handover to the North, “even with a gun to my head.”

But in an exclusive interview with Sunday, ACF National Secretary, Tukur Baba said such pledges are very unnecessary.

He said, “such a promise is totally unnecessary, even as a campaign material, it is still very unnecessary.

“First, such a transfer of power is not a constitutional provision. Its a decision of the political parties. Another of the leading presidential candidates had said that and that is not correct.

“Secondly, it is very undemocratic, we cannot be practicing democracy and we are putting all kinds of road blocks. This is not a democracy.

“Thirdly, when you are rotating power from one geo-political zone to another, tomorrow it may become a religious affair, they will come out and say it is time for so so religion.

“We have at least four hundred ethnic groups in this country and three major religions. The more we cling to the shift in power, the more we embrace the divisions amongst us.

“Why would Peter Obi make such a promise? If he becomes the president of Nigeria and performs very well in his first tenure, then will it be fair for Nigerians, North or South, men or women to say Obi will not go again because he made promises even though he is good?

“By him saying one term means he’s not going to try his hardest. He is not doing justice to the electorates. All we need in this country is just good governance

“We want accountability, fair representation and good welfare of the people. Welfare includes security, school, health and anti-corruption campaigns.

“If Peter Obi gets into power and after two years we start seeing results, it would be unfair for him to say he only wants four years.

“Imagine that in two years, Obi can bring down banditry, Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country, and then he said he wants to leave after four years, that would be unfair to those who elected him.

“If I am to sit down with Peter Obi, I will tell him, ‘you promised one term and then return power to another region, that is being irresponsible’.

We may not go far as a country until we get rid of tribalism and region-based politics. “We are marching backwards in reverse order”

ACF has no particular presidential candidate

But ACF spokesperson, who said the socio-cultural organization has no preferred policy candidate, said its duty is to analyze and let the electorates decide.

“There is no tradition of coming out openly in support of or opposition to any candidate or political parties in the country,” he said.

“More so our job is to analyze and at the end of the day allow the electorates to decide. Unlike other organizations in the country, we have over 300 tribes in the North so we cannot afford to say that the North has one preferred candidate or party.

“But the North has only one interest and the interest is different from the interest of any other citizens of the country and that is good governance, security and good economy”.

Shambolic Tinubu’s government.

The ACF also took a swipe at the President Bola Tinubu led administration, describing it as shambolic.

Tukur Baba, who said the President Tinubu has not done well in the area of security also lambasted the All Progressives Congress, APC-led government over the ravaging economic hardship.

He said the “widespread” activities of bandits and terrorists in the country have “continued to spread”.

If President Tinubu is doing well, the impact would have been felt but the issue has continued to expand until the Americans came recently, he added.

“Bello Tunji is still bragging on social media in the North East. No results Tinubu reshuffles security architecture.

“Did he ever order any of the security chiefs ‘bring me the head of so so bandit or terrorist dead or alive?

“Tinubu has disconnected Aso Villa from the national grid but you and I are paying for power we did not see.

“Prices of things are on the increase yet we have taxes all over. They keep bragging about low taxes for lower income earners but even the razor blade you buy, there is VAT in it.

“The so-called Lagos-Calabar highway, we don’t know what is happening there, how much of the so-called Lagos-Sokoto road has been done? Where’s the progress? Those who asked for democracy are the ones sabotaging the principles of democracy today, Tinubu and his group.

“The middle class is gone. I am very disappointed in President Tinubu. This regime has borrowed more than all the previous governments put together and you and I are going to pay for it.

“So I will say generally the performance has been shambolic.

“Has their policies effected citizens oh yes but negatively”

The post 2027: ACF Criticizes Peter Obi’s One-Term Pledge, Slams Tinubu’s Performance appeared first on TheNigerian.

It was stated that Wike during an event in Rivers State on Saturday, reportedly insulted Aisha Yesufu for losing the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, senatorial ticket.

The minister added that real politics is beyond media interviews, noting that the activist-turned politician lost in “ordinary NDC”.

Reacting, Aisha Yesufu in a statement on his official X handle, attacked the minister, adding, “If dem born Wike well, make e call my name with his full chest! What Tambuwal did him in 2022 will be child’s play.”

Responding to Wike’s comment on the outcome of her senatorial primary, Aisha said Wike also could “not win primaries in 2022”, alleging that the minister “even lobbied for running mate and still was not chosen, then ran to do boi boi for a fellow man like him and ended up destroying a party that was once largest in Africa and was recently disgraced by a young military officer is talking about a woman in NDC!”

“Let me wait make the man get liver mention name! Then the man doing boi boi because he has to be in power to have authority will know those of us from Kukuruku empire of Edo State in South South no dey grovel,” she added.

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