2027: NDC Breaks Silence on Dickson’s Alleged Secret APC Deal to Betray Obi

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has rejected allegations that its National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, is secretly working with the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.

The allegation centres on claims that Dickson had reached an understanding with the ruling party to undermine NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

But the NDC has described the claim as false, malicious and without foundation.

The party said Dickson remained committed to the NDC and its presidential ticket as preparations for the 2027 general elections intensify.

The National Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Osa Director, made the position known in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.

Director said the party would not allow what he described as false claims to create suspicion around the former Bayelsa State governor.

He insisted that Dickson had neither a secret nor an open agreement with the APC.

He said, “Our National Leader, Distinguished Senator Seriake Dickson, is not a front for the ruling APC or anyone else. He has no secret or open deal whatsoever with the ruinous and diabolical APC regime.”

The allegation comes at a time when the NDC is strengthening its structures ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Obi and Kwankwaso have emerged as the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates after joining the NDC earlier in the year.

Their emergence has placed Dickson and other party leaders at the centre of efforts to build a national political structure around the ticket.

The former Bayelsa governor has also held a series of meetings with Obi, Kwankwaso and other senior members of the party as the NDC works towards its campaign activities.

In August, Dickson hosted Obi and Kwankwaso at a high-level meeting where preparations for the 2027 campaign and the party’s political strategy were discussed.

He later met the two politicians again with other party leaders as consultations continued over the composition of the presidential campaign council.

The NDC had also said in September that consultations over the campaign council had reached an advanced stage, with Obi and Kwankwaso given a role in nominating several principal officers for the structure.

Director said these developments showed that Dickson remained actively involved in the party’s preparations and had no reason to secretly work against its presidential candidates.

He argued that the former governor’s political record did not support the allegation of a deal with the APC.

According to him, Dickson had opportunities to join the ruling party but instead chose to remain with the opposition platform and contribute to its development.

“Anyone who knows Senator Dickson’s public service record, and is in his right senses, will not associate him with any under-the-table arrangement to sabotage his own party and its presidential candidate and running mate, Peter Obi and Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso.

“Senator Dickson could have taken the easy way out by joining the APC. Instead, he chose the hard, honourable path of building a party with like-minds, a party that will liberate Nigeria from the vice grip of the buccaneers currently in power,” Director argued.

The publicity secretary also referred to Dickson’s time in the Senate.

He said the former Bayelsa governor had consistently taken positions on national issues that, in the view of the party, placed him in opposition to the policies of the present administration.

“His consistent, courageous and principled position on national issues on the floor of the Senate for over seven years is a clear testament to his strength of character and unwavering solidarity with suffering Nigerians, whose misery has worsened and intensified under this administration,” he added.

The NDC spokesman further accused unnamed political opponents of attempting to cause confusion within the party as preparations for the election gather momentum.

He claimed that the allegations were being circulated because of the growing political activities of the NDC and its presidential ticket.

The latest controversy comes after a series of disagreements within and around the NDC in recent months.

The party has had to address questions surrounding the relationship between its official structures and the various support groups backing Obi and Kwankwaso.

In September, Dickson warned that support groups could not establish parallel structures for the party.

His comments followed the announcement of a 59-member presidential campaign council by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement.

The NDC subsequently distanced itself from the structure and said it had not been authorised by the party. The disagreement later produced further exchanges between the party and the movement.

Despite those disagreements, Dickson has publicly maintained that the NDC’s priority is to prepare for the 2027 election.

Earlier in September, he also clarified that he was not a member of either the Obidient or Kwankwasiyya movements, stressing that his political identity remained tied to the NDC.

“I’m not a member of Kwankwasiyya. I’m not a member of Obedient. I am NDC,” Dickson said during an appearance on Arise TV.

He added that both movements had the right to retain their identities but pointed out that Obi and Kwankwaso were now the NDC’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

The former governor has also repeatedly called on party members to avoid internal disputes and concentrate on 2027.

The NDC has also continued expanding its electoral structure ahead of the election.

In August, Kwankwaso coordinated the submission of the party’s candidates for the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The exercise was subsequently presented to Dickson as part of the party’s preparations for the polls.

Against that background, Director urged NDC members and supporters not to be distracted by the allegation involving Dickson.

He called on party stakeholders to remain focused on the campaign and support all candidates contesting under the NDC platform.

He said, “Consequently, it is wicked, vexatious and mendacious to associate his name with any compromise with the ruling APC and its key drivers.

“We are fully aware that these unfounded and baseless allegations are emanating from the ranks of our political opponents, who are envious of the growing popularity, acceptability and organic spread of the NDC across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

“We urge all our teeming supporters, members and well-wishers to remain steadfast, keep their eyes on the ball, and work assiduously for victory for our presidential candidate and his running mate, and indeed all candidates contesting on the platform of the NDC. Together, we stand. Together, we shall win. A New Nigeria is Possible. We can do it!”