The senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District and former governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, on Thursday announced his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party, citing deepening internal crisis and poor leadership within the opposition party.
Dickson made the announcement at a press conference held at his residence in Abuja, describing the opposition party that once dominated Nigeria’s political landscape as having deteriorated significantly.
He thereafter announced his new party, the Nigeria Democratic Congress, and claimed the party would provide a credible alternative in the nation’s political space.
Dickson was formally welcomed into the NDC and presented with membership card number 001 by the party leadership.
He had also claimed that he would join a platform to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State.
“So, I’m not uncomfortable in the opposition, but we want our party to win power, implement its ideology, upon which it has been founded, and then work for the benefit of our people.
“That’s why the motto of the NDC is ‘Service to the People.’ Power to the people is good, but service to the people is better. Let me say that the NDC has come to stay, and we’ll fight for a genuinely progressive Nigeria,” he said.
The NDC is one of the two parties newly registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Reacting to Dickson’s defection, the Bayelsa State chairman of APC, Warman Ogoriba, downplayed the NDC’s prospects in the state.
“That party can never be a threat to us in the state. APC is formidable; we have structures across the state. APC is a people-centred party, with the interest of Bayelsans at heart.
“We are not disturbed by what he said today. You don’t win an election on social media,” he said.
Dickson, who expressed disappointment with the Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, for joining the APC, had claimed he would resist every attempt to make Nigeria a one-party state.
Announcing his defection to the new party on Thursday, Dckson said, “In compliance and pursuant to the Constitution of the People’s Democratic Party, I have formally communicated my resignation to the Peoples Democratic Party, painfully, and emotionally so.
“But then, that was the only realistic option available to me. I have communicated to the appropriate office (in the PDP), and it was acknowledged.”
The former governor urged Nigerians who desire a stronger democratic system to align with the NDC.
Lamenting the woes that betide the PDP, Dickson said the party was not only sick, but it was also already in the intensive care unit.
“I have been a faithful and committed member of the Peoples Democratic Party since 2005. The PDP was particularly appealing to me because it was an umbrella for all Nigerians – an umbrella for the big and the small, the strong and the weak.
“Unfortunately, my beloved party is not only sick; it has been sick for a long time. The PDP today is in the intensive care unit, and the doctors are not smiling,” Dickson lamented.
He attributed the party’s decline to the conduct of some leaders, particularly governors, stating, “The governors and other leaders must take responsibility for the avoidable, self-inflicted destruction of the PDP.”
Dickson also warned against the emergence of a one-party system in Nigeria, adding, “Nigeria cannot be a one-party state. Anyone promoting one-party rule in Nigeria is pursuing a mirage.”
Highlighting his political principles, he noted that despite opportunities in the past, he had resisted defecting to the ruling party while serving as governor.
“I could have defected to the APC even when I was governor, but I refused because Nigeria must not become a one-party state,” he said.
The former governor emphasised that the PDP’s crisis had weakened its ability to function as a credible opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“The PDP that we kept hoping would provide a credible opposition has kept digging itself deeper into crisis. Unfortunately, it may not be in a position to be competitive in the 2027 general elections,” he added.
