MY SPEECH AS THE NATIONAL LEADER OF THE NDC AT OUR INAUGURAL NATIONAL CONVENTION HELD TODAY
“First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, and then you win.” — Mahatma Gandhi
My fellow compatriots, leaders, and delegates.
I join the National Chairman and members of the Protem National Executive Committee to warmly welcome you all to our nation’s capital and to this historic venue for our inaugural national convention.
Today, I address you with a deep sense of honour, gratitude, and responsibility as we gather for a convention whose primary purpose is to affirm and elect our protem national leadership and further strengthen the foundation of our great party.
I use this opportunity to sincerely thank Nigerians from all walks of life for the trust and confidence they have reposed in me and in the leaders of our party, believing in the ideals upon which the NDC was founded — ideals of service, national unity and cohesion, political inclusion, women and youth empowerment, and the protection of democratic values.
As you all know, this party is barely three months old, yet no political party in the history of our country has enjoyed this level of acceptance, enthusiasm, and trust from Nigerians within such a short period of time as the NDC has received.
You will recall that, in our collective effort to establish an alternative opposition platform that would keep the flames of Nigeria’s multi-party democracy alive, we first sought to register this party as far back as 2017, when I realised that the foundations of my party—the PDP, had been weakened and the ideals compromised. Unfortunately, that effort did not materialise at the time.
However, when INEC resumed party registration last year, we revisited and updated our earlier application. Even then, when we encountered bureaucratic bottlenecks that violated our constitutional right to freedom of association, we approached the courts, and in December 2025, judgment was delivered in our favour. That judgment was duly served on INEC, which complied and issued us our certificate of registration in February this year.
Following that, I publicly announced my involvement and role in this great party, and we immediately commenced nationwide mobilisation and sensitisation. Since then, Nigerians from every region of our country, North, South, East, and West, have embraced and shared in our vision.
I thank the Judiciary for upholding our constitutional rights to freedom of association in the judgment at the Federal High Court that led to the registration of our party. I equally commend INEC and its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, who obeyed the court judgements in respect of the NDC and the NDP, which was registered later.
While INEC and the judiciary did well in the case of NDC and NDP, they should also do well to ensure the survival of multi-party democracy—the survival of PDP, ADC, Labour Party, SDP, NNPP, and all other opposition parties. Nigeria needs a strong party in government and also strong parties in opposition.
Let me say that, contrary to propaganda, there is no appeal against the judgement by INEC or by anyone. The judgment has been obeyed and implemented fully, and besides, the timeline for appeal has since passed, and only INEC has the proper locus standi, and they have not appealed.
About a week ago, two influential figures in our nation’s political history, His Excellency Peter Obi and His Excellency Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, officially joined our party after weeks of consultations and engagements with me. I thank them specially for their trust, confidence, and partnership, both in the journey so far and in the journey ahead.
This partnership represents a unique convergence of political experience, administrative competence, national reach, and a shared hope for the future of Nigeria.
@omoluabi1sq You are very stupid for lying that Atiku birthed the coalition. You and Atiku don’t have sense. Coalition is not the property of anyone nor did anyone form it.
@dev_olalekan@TosinOlugbenga That dev in your name certainly means devil, because you are not smart at all. if you want to vote someone, do your own research and don’t ask people stupid questions online.
@MasterBolaji@BabaGeorgeBaba You’re the idiot here. How is selling 4000 water melons in a country of 200 million a sign that economy is good. You need sense ode
Actually only those who work hard and earn would be able to complain.
Have you see where beggars or criminals complain?
Majority of those who support APC, are either beggars or a criminals.