National leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Seriake Dickson, has announced that only aspirants who emerge victorious in the party’s primaries will be required to pay nomination fees and complete their documentation.
Dickson disclosed this in a statement shared on his 𝕏 handle following a joint meeting involving key organs of the party.
According to him, the meeting was attended by the NDC National Chairman, Cleopas Moses, the party’s presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, members of the National Working Committee, as well as members of the party’s selection and screening committees.
The former Bayelsa State governor explained that the arrangement became necessary because of the limited time available ahead of the deadline for the conclusion of party primaries.
He stated that all aspirants who purchased Expression of Interest forms would be allowed to participate in the primaries across their constituencies, while only successful candidates would proceed to the party secretariat for full documentation and payment of nomination fees.
“Only successful candidates will report to the party secretariat for documentation and, in the process, pay for nomination forms and complete other necessary forms,” Dickson stated.
The senator further revealed that senior party officials had been deployed across states to conduct the primaries in collaboration with local stakeholders and party leaders.
He urged officials handling the exercise to remain transparent, fair and committed to protecting the interests of all aspirants.
Dickson also stressed that the NDC remained committed to promoting youth and women participation in politics and should give fair consideration to aspirants with the capacity to win elections.
The NDC leader announced that the party’s primaries would hold on May 28 and 29 across the country.
According to him, direct primaries for State House of Assembly positions would be conducted at the constituency level, while House of Representatives, Senate, governorship and presidential affirmations would take place at local government headquarters.
He also disclosed that an appeal panel had been inaugurated to address complaints that may arise from the primaries.
Dickson appealed to aspirants and supporters to conduct themselves peacefully, warning that the party would not tolerate intimidation, threats, violence or any form of disorder during the exercise.
He added that although the party initially planned to conduct electronic primaries, time constraints made full implementation impossible.
The former governor, however, assured members that the NDC remained committed to adopting electronic voting for future internal elections.
“As I said at the dinner with aspirants, this will be the last primary election in the NDC to be conducted manually,” he said.
