From Hope to Disillusionment? The Troubling Face of the NDC

By Pius Awunah 

On December 10, 2025, a Federal High Court granted the request of former Bayelsa State Governor, Rt. Hon. Seriake Dickson, to register a new political party. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had rejected several attempts by over one hundred groups and individuals to register political parties. Upon hearing the news of a new political party by Seriake Dickson, many Nigerians were excited and hopeful that a new platform had emerged—one that could help change the corrupt political system they had grown weary of. This party is the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

By the end of the first quarter of 2026, another cheering development emerged. Nigeria's leading opposition figure and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, alongside another 2023 presidential candidate, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, jointly moved into the NDC.

Since the arrival of these two opposition leaders, the party has not remained the same. The NDC has received more members than Mr. Seriake Dickson could ever have imagined. However, the overwhelming influx of members has come with a lot of challenges, making the party increasingly difficult to manage internally.

From all indications, the NDC seems to be a party best described as a house divided into two camps. The first camp is the party structure, where Seriake Dickson is the supreme leader and Senator Cleopas is the National Chairman. This group appears comfortable with the fact that it registered the political party and therefore, assumes absolute authority and power to do and undo. It decides who gets what and how they get it, neglecting the due-process. This group insists that contesting elections should be reserved for those who are willing to pay—and pay handsomely. 

During the screening of aspirants to contest for elections which was held in Abuja, the party asked House of representatives aspirants to pay ₦10,000,000, senatorial aspirants ₦20,000,000, and gubernatorial aspirants ₦30,000,000, as a support to the party. 

Though a caveat was added, that 'it was not compulsory', they went on to say that the selection committee shall consider those who have contributed to the party first. That attitude was also shown during primaries were candidates were asked to pay monies to some members of the committee.

The second camp consists of dissatisfied Nigerians led by Mr. Peter Obi and Dr. Kwankwaso. This group believes that Nigerians desire change and will vote out the APC even if they have to contest on an entirely new platform. They are prepared to go into the hinterlands on foot to sell the NDC to Nigerians, regardless of the sacrifices required.

Many Nigerians are following the NDC because of the two faces—Obi and Kwankwaso—but behind them lies a side that few are talking about: the Seriake Dickson group. According to my investigation, this group operates behind the Obi-Kwankwaso movement, allegedly exploiting aspirants and trading party tickets to the highest bidders without remorse.

In Benue State, where I followed the development with keen interest, after the primaries were conducted, certain individuals with close ties to the Dickson group were allegedly handed party tickets without participating in the process, while those who contested were pushed aside. One Engr. Akaaka, who was among the least-ranked governorship aspirants, illegitimately controls the party in the state and the same person handled the party's nomination forms. 

The investigation also revealed that he abandoned candidates who emerged from the primaries and allocated the forms to the highest bidders. According to party members, he has removed the names of many viable candidates and replaced them with business associates. It is alleged that almost all the candidates have been substituted.

If you are privileged to be on the WhatsApp groups of the party in Benue State, the level of dissatisfaction among members of the NDC is enormous. Numerous petitions have reportedly been submitted to the party headquarters, but nothing has come of them because the party structure is controlled by the same group against whom the complaints are directed.

In an attempt to speak out against the alleged abuse within the party, a candidate in Anambra reportedly reached out to Mr. Kenneth Okonkwo to raise concerns about the exploitation. However, Okonkwo allegedly used the matter for his own political interests against Mr. Peter Obi. The issue has since become the subject of litigation.

Media as a watch dog of the society, should please, mount its satellite to investigate the alleged misconduct within emerging political parties such as the NDC, thereby not allowing issues that many believe undermine internal democracy to go largely unexamined.

The questions Nigerians must now ask are simple but profound: Was the NDC created to offer hope, or merely to replace one form of political injustice with another? If the allegations of manipulation, imposition, and commercialization of party tickets are ignored, the party risks losing the moral authority upon which it attracted millions of supporters in the first place. Nigerians yearning for genuine political change deserve transparency, fairness, and internal democracy—not another platform that mirrors the degraded system it promised to reform. The leadership of the NDC must act decisively to address these concerns, restore confidence in the party, and demonstrate that the hopes invested in it have not been dashed to the wind.

Pius Awunah,

Human rights activist and Public affairs commentator.

Maitama, Abuja.

piusawunahhh@gmail.com 

08129227238