I just received my brother, colleague, and partner in the New Nigerian Project, His Excellency Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, CON, our presidential candidate, who, together with some distinguished leaders of our party, held a closed-door meeting which lasted about three hours.
In the course of that meeting, we reviewed the activities of our party and discussed a few recent issues that have been a source of concern to all sides, and we amicably resolved all the issues
We have always been on the same page on the bigger picture, i.e., winning the elections for all candidates of our party and rescuing Nigeria from the misgovernance of the APC-led government. However, a few issues have arisen, and we have agreed on how to handle them moving forward.
I want to use this opportunity again to call on all members of our party to stop the bickering and name-calling and focus on the bigger picture. Both His Excellency Peter Obi and I, as well as other leaders and stakeholders of our party, will continue to consult and engage with one another to address and resolve concerns, strengthen the unity and cohesion of our party, and ensure that we remain focused on our shared mission of rescuing Nigeria and building a better future for all.
Happy Democracy Day.
~HSD
On behalf of the National Working Committee, Zonal and State Women Leaders, as well as all the women in Nigeria Democratic Congress, we wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of our dear Gombe State women leader, Hajiya Habiba (Hajiya Baby Gafa) who passed on yesterday.
We pray the Almighty will grant her family comfort and strength to bear this irreparable loss.
There was a time when children happily went to school, happily stayed at school and happily returned home afterwards.
It did not matter if it was day school or boarding school.
There was a time when a child was parented by everyone and this was not just about discipline, but also ensuring the well being and safety of that child.
There was that yime in Nigeria.
I went to school at that time.
Sometimes school closed earlier than expected, and I will surprise my parents when they see me at home having traveled from Lagos to Bauchi with other students by train.
Even when such happened, my parents never feared and neither did I.
We have had to make detours to other cities when Jos airport was too cloudy or windy for the small F27, F28 planes to land: sometimes to Kano or Kaduna.
Anyone who sees us in our blue pinafores and blue check tops automatically felt a need to help us, protect us or feed us.
There was a time when children were protected by ALL in Nigeria.
There was a time when even the wicked in the society knew that children belonged to everyone and therefore never unleashed their wickedness on children.
What happened, Nigeria? What changed, Nigeria? What flipped, Nigeria?
Now, children have become endangered species. Not safe at home, on the streets or in school.
This has to stop!!!
Stop making children the victims of your hate and greed.
BRING BACK ALL THE CHILDREN HOME: SAFE AND UNHARMED!!
If we have a government, it should hear this cry of anguish and ACT NOW!
The constitution the leaders swore to uphold says THE SECURITY AND WELFARE OF CITIZENS IS THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT.
If this primary purpose is not being carried out, then what are you doing occupying those seats?
Protect the Nigerian children today, tomorrow and always.
Nigerians demand that the children be brought back home. NOW! ALIVE! UNHARMED!
It was a pleasure to warmly receive Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, CFR, former Deputy Senate President, into our great party, alongside Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly.
I am also pleased to announce that the NDC has not only received them warmly but has equally granted them waivers to contest in the senatorial primaries in their respective districts tomorrow. I wish them both the very best of luck.
This development is the result of several weeks of consultations aimed at strengthening the foundations of our party in the South-South region and across the country.
I urge everyone to warmly welcome them into our fast-growing family and extend to them the fullest support and cooperation.
~HSD
Seriake Dickson: Only successful aspirants in NDC primaries will pay nomination fees
Seriake Dickson, national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), says only aspirants who win the partyโs primaries will proceed to pay nomination fees and complete documentation exercise.
https://t.co/sKACNJXorV
"We are not just building a political platform that people will use to win elections and later jump and leave for another party. We are building a party with a clear ideology of service. You cannot use our party to win an election and then decamp."
โ NDC National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, speaking during the NDC aspirants' dinner last night in Abuja.
Strengthening inclusive participation in governance was one of the key themes at the Citizensโ Townhall on Constitution Alteration Bills convened by @PLACNG last month.
In this clip, @ClementNwankwo, Executive Director of @PLACNG, makes a compelling case for the Special Seats Bill as a means to improve inclusive participation in governance.
I also deeply appreciate the supporters of His Excellency Peter Obi and the Obidient Movement across Nigeria and beyond. I equally thank the supporters of His Excellency Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya Movement across the country and across the world.
And to all Nigerians who have believed in me, my values, my ideology, and our collective vision over the years, I assure you that this coalition of experience and patriotism will not disappoint you.
All of us gathered here today have a long history of sacrifice and service, particularly within the opposition. We have endured intimidation, propaganda, deprivation, blackmail, harassment, and countless obstacles in our democratic journey. And if those pressures did not break us before, they will not break us now, and they will never break us.
I therefore assure all delegates, members of our party, and indeed all Nigerians, that you are on the right path, and the NDC is in safe hands.
We have assembled at a defining moment in the life of our nationโa time of worsening insecurity, economic hardship, deepening poverty, growing national division, and declining public trust in government and institutions. Our duty in the NDC is to reverse these dangerous trends.
The NDC was founded as an ideological party determined to do politics differentlyโ politics of service, politics of dialogue, politics of consensus-building, politics of inclusion, politics of respect for all Nigerians, politics of unity rather than division, and politics that restores dignity to our people and pride to our nation. In the coming days, our programmes, policies, and plans for Nigeria will become clearer to all Nigerians.
To all Nigerians, the NDC is here to serve you, as our motto clearly states. For me, my life is one dedicated to serviceโto man and service to God Almighty.
To our compatriots in other opposition parties, you are our co-travellers in the democratic struggle, and we intend to build strong channels of cooperation and communication in the collective interest of preserving multi-party democracy in Nigeria.
And to our brothers, friends, and colleagues in the APC, let me say clearly: you are not our enemies. You are fellow citizens with whom we simply disagree politically. We disagree with the direction the APC has taken Nigeria since 2015, and we have formed the NDC as a platform to offer a better path for our nation.
Our vision is to build an enduring political institution that will outlive all of us; a party founded on values and ideas, much like the ANC in South Africa, the Congress Party and BJP in India, the Republican and Democratic Parties in the United States, and the Conservative and Labour Parties in the United Kingdom, and others.
We must bring an end to the culture of politicians jumping from one political party to another without ideological conviction. We must build a democratic culture where parties are defined by ideas and values, and where politicians remain committed to principles irrespective of electoral outcomes.
This conviction explains my own political journey and service. In 1998, as a young man, I participated in building and working for the Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ), and later the Alliance for Democracy (AD). I later worked with the ANPP in opposition politics.
Even after the PDP lost power in 2015, I remained firmly in the opposition and worked tirelessly, at great personal cost, to sustain opposition politics and democratic plurality in Nigeria while serving as Governor in my home state of Bayelsa.
I remained a leading opposition figure, and amongst other positions, I chaired the PDP Governorsโ Forum and served severally as chairman of the PDP National Reconciliation Committee for years.
MY SPEECH AS THE NATIONAL LEADER OF THE NDC AT OUR INAUGURAL NATIONAL CONVENTION HELD TODAY
โFirst, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, and then you win.โ โ 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 nationโs 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 โ 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 Nigeriaโs multi-party democracy alive, we first sought to register this party as far back as 2017, when I realised that the foundations of my partyโthe 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 democracyโthe 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 nationโs 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.
Taking the oath of office as National Women Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress at our inaugural convention. All members of the National Working Committee were affirmed yesterday.
Thank you Jesus!
Our National Legal Adviser resigned from the APM since last year.
There is no discrepancy of membership or legal issues.
INEC just forgot to update APMโs details on their website.
See his letter of resignation from the party and as National Legal adviser attached.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Cc @GuardianNigeria โ๐ผโ๐ผโ๐ผ