The National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Seriake Dickson, has attributed the controversies and disputes that trailed the party’s recent primaries to provisions of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, which mandates political parties to conduct direct primaries.
He argued that although the law was introduced with good intentions, its implementation has placed excessive pressure on party structures and fuelled internal tensions.
Dickson made the remarks during an interview on Arise News Night on Wednesday, noting that the statutory requirement for direct primaries has proven particularly challenging for emerging and rapidly expanding political parties such as the NDC.
“The challenges we are seeing are not peculiar to the NDC. They are a direct consequence of the Electoral Act’s imposition of mandatory direct primaries,” he said.
“Even established parties with deeper structures and resources are struggling with the logistics, disputes, and litigation that follow such exercises.”
He explained that the party’s rapid growth, combined with the requirement for broad-based participation in candidate selection, had created operational bottlenecks that resulted in multiple and sometimes conflicting outcomes across different states.
According to him, “What the law has done is to transfer enormous logistical responsibility to political parties without corresponding support or flexibility.”
“When you conduct direct primaries across a fast-growing membership base, you will inevitably have disputes and competing claims.”
Despite the challenges, the former Bayelsa State governor insisted that the NDC remains stable and focused, adding that the leadership is actively addressing disputes emerging from the primaries before submitting final candidate lists to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“There is no crisis in the NDC. What we are managing is the reality of rapid growth under a rigid electoral framework.
“We have put in place internal mechanisms to review complaints and ensure fairness in the final outcome, ” he said.
Dickson also dismissed allegations of ticket monetisation, insisting that the party’s nomination process is strictly based on internal procedures and merit, not financial inducement.
“The NDC does not sell tickets. Nobody has paid money to me or to the leadership in exchange for nominations.
“What we expect from aspirants is commitment and capacity, not cash transactions, ” he said.
He also issued a caution to supporters of opposition figures Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, urging them to refrain from making statements that could undermine the party’s unity.
“Supporters must be disciplined. Disparaging the leadership of the NDC weakens the very platform their preferred candidates depend on.
“We welcome robust engagement, but not attacks that threaten internal unity,” he said.
The remarks come amid ongoing debates over internal party democracy and the effectiveness of direct primary elections in Nigeria’s evolving political landscape.
