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….says violence could undermine elections
…urges IPAC, Abdulsalami-led Peace Committee, INEC, security agencies to intervene
…moves to address internal grievances, mobilise NDC candidates for campaign duties
The national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Henry Dickson, has called for measures to address rising incidents of political violence and attacks against the party, its candidates and supporters ahead of the 2027 general elections.
To this end, he called for an. emergency all-party summit, while urging the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), the Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to urgently convene a meeting to.address the trend.
He warned that failure to contain the growing violence could threaten the country’s democracy and undermine the elections.
In a statement on Sunday, the former Bayelsa State governor expressed concern over what he described as increasing incidents of thuggery and violent attacks targeting the NDC and its members, saying the development required urgent collective intervention by political parties and relevant institutions.
“I am deeply concerned about the increasing incidents of violence and attacks targeted against the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and its candidates and supporters. I and several other party leaders have had cause to speak against this in the past,” he said.
Dickson, however, insisted that political disagreements and rivalries should not be allowed to degenerate into violence.
“Whatever the circumstances, violence has no place in our democratic process,” he said.
He said the proposed summit would provide an opportunity for political parties to reaffirm their commitment to peaceful, fair and transparent elections.
“The rising rate of violence, if not urgently checked, could lead to a dangerous situation that may complicate, or entirely undermine, the conduct of the 2027 elections even before it starts. We must not allow political disagreements and rivalries to degenerate into violence capable of threatening our democracy,” he warned.
On the internal affairs of the party, Dickson said he had held discussions with various party leaders over concerns recently raised by some NDC officers, directing that the issues be addressed and the interests of those involved taken into consideration.
He also disclosed that arrangements were underway to deploy committed party members across the country to various assignments in the committees and directorates of the NDC National Campaign Council.
“I have asked them to also begin the preparation and release of various committed party men and women across the country for various assignments and duties in the committees and directorates of the National Campaign Council,” he said.
The NDC leader said he had also directed the party’s executive committee to expedite the release of the lists and ensure that members worked with the campaign team.
He added that the party leadership had been asked to provide financial support to state chapters to strengthen their operations, while efforts continued to raise additional funds for the campaign.
Dickson further urged the party’s National Assembly, state House of Assembly and governorship candidates to take seriously the process of appointing, verifying, identifying and training polling agents ahead of the elections.
He said the candidates should work with the presidential campaign team to ensure that their interests and contributions were reflected in the process.
According to him, the party was also exploring collaboration with other political parties, excluding its main contenders, where necessary, to strengthen its polling agent presence across the country.
“I advised that beyond our party affiliations efforts should be made to collaborate with other parties, apart from our main contenders where necessary to beef up the agent presence in all units and ensure that NDC is ably represented in every polling unit across the country,” he said.
Dickson stressed that the views of candidates must be given priority in the selection and deployment of agents because they would be directly involved in defending the party’s interests at the polls.
“As I have said on this matter on this issue of agents, the view of the candidates should be given an utmost consideration as they are the ones on the ballot and on ground to defend the party but they are expected to do so in conjunction with the leadership and stakeholders of the party,” he said.
He said the process should be concluded quickly and decentralised to enable the uploading of agents’ details and commencement of training later in November and throughout December.
“This should be quickly concluded and decentralised for uploading so that training can commence later this month and through out December because the 2027 election is an agent based election,” he added.
The NDC leader thanked Nigerians for what he described as their massive solidarity and support for the party, saying the leadership remained committed to its preparations for the 2027 elections.
