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ABUJA — Prominent Edo political leaders and stakeholders have warned the leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), including its National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, and the party’s 2027 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, that failure to resolve lingering disputes arising from the party’s primaries could jeopardise its chances in the 2027 general elections.
The warning was issued at an emergency stakeholders’ meeting held in Abuja, where influential Edo leaders from across the country converged to assess the outcome of the NDC’s nationwide primaries conducted on May 28 and 29, 2026.
The meeting, attended by representatives of the amalgamated Obedient-Kwankwaso and NDC grassroots support coordinators, expressed concern over what participants described as widespread irregularities, candidate substitution and growing disillusionment among party faithful.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the stakeholders alleged that unresolved disputes over the primaries had triggered numerous petitions and court cases while eroding public confidence in the party.
Speaking on behalf of the stakeholders, elder statesman and veteran labour leader, Pa Victor Aguebor, alleged that documentary evidence and pending litigations pointed to serious irregularities in the conduct of the primaries in Edo State.
“In Edo State alone, documents of hundreds of petitioners and nearly a dozen court litigations we have assessed severely indict some officials of the party, especially the party’s South-South zonal chairman and Edo State chairman of NDC, who headed the committee charged with the conduct of the party’s primaries in Edo State,” Aguebor said.
According to him, several aspirants who legitimately won the party’s primaries were allegedly replaced with individuals who either recently defected from other political parties or did not participate in the NDC primaries.
He further alleged that some of the replacement candidates emerged after offering inducements to compromised party officials.
“The NDC South-South zonal chairman, Barr. Frederick Enderokeme Owotorufa, and Edo State chairman of the party, Mr. David Olukoga, are prime actors in this unfortunate and shameful misadventure in modern-day Edo political history,” Aguebor alleged.
He claimed that although authentic results were submitted for official declaration, the winners were never announced.
“Upon receiving the actual results of winners, both the zonal chairman, Barr. Owotorufa, and state chairman, Olukoga, did not announce the winners of the primaries till date. Only for them to compile their own names of individuals and outsiders of the party… and shortlisted the supplanters to INEC as the party’s candidates for the 2027 elections, thus replacing the winners with losers.”
Warning of the implications, Aguebor said the alleged actions posed a direct threat to the party’s electoral prospects.
“Edo State shall be the last frontier in Nigeria to swallow this evil. Because this is an evil which comprehensively endangers the victory of the NDC in Edo State and entire Nigeria in the 2027 elections.”
The stakeholders cited the Oredo Federal Constituency primary as one of the examples of the alleged irregularities, claiming that the authentic winner was replaced by a former APC aspirant who neither won his former party’s primary nor participated in the NDC primary election.
Despite the allegations, the meeting commended several senior party leaders, including Senator Rolland Owie, Bishop Isaac Idahosa, local government chairmen under Oredo Federal Constituency and ward executives, for remaining uninvolved in the controversy.
The stakeholders also endorsed an earlier petition submitted by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement Global (OKMG), which similarly called on the party leadership to address alleged injustices arising from the primaries nationwide.
Also speaking, Edo South Coordinator of the NDC and Chairman of Chairmen in the state, Mr. Jatto Erumusele, warned that the controversy had severely affected grassroots mobilisation.
“We of Edo State and the South-South in general agree with our South-East counterparts that public confidence in the NDC has been shattered. Loyal members feel betrayed and are threatening defection. Young activists—the party’s future—are walking away in disgust. Most critically, the collapse of grassroots mobilization directly undermines every effort and progress made toward the 2027 general elections.”
He urged the national leadership to immediately release what the stakeholders described as authentic primary results, conduct a forensic audit of disputed nominations, discipline officials found culpable and restore the mandates of genuine winners.
Erumusele stressed that restoring internal democracy was critical to the party’s credibility.
“A party which cannot manage its own internal democracy cannot credibly ask Nigerians for national mandate.
He reminded the NDC leadership of Edo State’s historical role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution, warning that attempts to impose unpopular candidates could provoke widespread voter apathy.
“Edo State… is the cradle of modern Nigeria’s democracy. Testing the will of our people by imposing unwanted and unpopular candidates who cannot win elections but help corrupt party officials to scoop millions of naira into their pockets, against the preferred candidates of Nigerians will be fatal to the NDC nationwide in 2027. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.”
The stakeholders appealed directly to Senator Seriake Dickson and Peter Obi to intervene decisively in the dispute, insisting that transparent internal democratic processes remain the surest path to rebuilding trust among members and positioning the NDC for success in the 2027 elections.
The party officials mentioned in the allegations had not publicly responded as of the time of filing this report, and the claims made by the stakeholders remain unverified independently.
