Aisha Yesufu, the human rights activist and a prominent figure within the Nigeria Democratic Congress, has strongly criticised the party’s national leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, following his recent television appearance. Yesufu accused Dickson of prioritising his personal ego over the urgent task of preparing the opposition party for the 2027 general election.
Her criticism came in response to Dickson’s interview on Arise Television on Wednesday, during which he addressed the fallout from the party’s recently conducted primaries. On May 30, Peter Obi emerged as the NDC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election, with former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso named as his running mate. However, the exercise was marred by reports of irregularities, including the decision not to hold senatorial primaries in the Federal Capital Territory, a move that effectively denied Yesufu the chance to contest for the FCT senate ticket.
In a strongly worded statement on Thursday, Yesufu said she was deeply disappointed by Dickson’s leadership approach. She argued that the former Bayelsa governor squandered his first one-on-one interview after the primaries by making it about himself, rather than projecting confidence in the party’s candidates. “This part of the interview was so painfully appalling to watch. It looked as if you were insecure and in competition with your Presidential Candidate,” she said. “Your first one-on-one interview after primaries, and instead of selling your candidates and giving confidence to people on how to set the road to winning the 2027 election, you made it about yourself.”
Yesufu further accused Dickson of treating the NDC as a “Special Purpose Vehicle” whose sole achievement is its registration, rather than a genuine political party focused on securing electoral victory. “With all due respect sir, it looks as if you consider the NDC a Special Purpose Vehicle whose aim has been achieved just by being registered instead of a Political Party whose aim is to win the 2027 General election decisively,” she said. “The registration of NDC should be a means to an end and not an end in itself.”
The activist also faulted Dickson for failing to use the platform to reassure aggrieved aspirants and unite party supporters. According to Yesufu, the national leader ended up alienating the very people whose backing will be essential for the election. “As a leader of a political party, your number one job in that interview was to pacify aspirants, many of whom are rightfully aggrieved, and secondly to call on supporters to bear with the party and support it, but you ended up antagonising the very people you would need to win the election,” she stated. “Every vote counts! A leader must stoop to conquer.”
Recalling her own experience, Yesufu pushed back against what she described as Dickson’s “disingenuous allusion” that she had not played by the rules. She revealed that when the party leadership insisted there would be no senatorial primaries in the FCT, she chose to move on and personally toured the territory to pacify her disappointed supporters and party members who had been waiting at various headquarters for an exercise that never took place. “I played field politics. I never waited for anyone to give me a ticket,” she said.
Yesufu urged Dickson to stop fighting imaginary battles and accept responsibility for the party’s organisational failures. She reminded him that the NDC is a young party that was overwhelmed during the primary process, and that accountability is the only path to improvement. “The party is young. It was overwhelmed. Mistakes will be made. Accepting the mistakes and being accountable is how the party will get better,” she said.
In a direct appeal to the national leader, Yesufu insisted that no one within the party is interested in challenging his leadership. “No one can take away your leadership of NDC, no one is interested in that! The focus is on Nigeria winning the 2027 election,” she declared. “It looked as if you are fighting a war no one is waging with you. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone, just lead!”
Concluding her remarks, the activist emphasised that the overriding priority must be rescuing Nigeria from its current challenges, not protecting fragile egos. “There is a whole battle ahead of us. Rescuing Nigeria from the current state it is in should be the main focus, not people’s fragile ego,” she said. The heated exchange underscores the growing internal tensions within the NDC as the party navigates its post-primary landscape and attempts to build a united front for 2027.
Abuja Network News
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