ABUJA – National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Seriake Dickson, has alleged that there are deliberate efforts to weaken and destabilise the political opposition amid the party’s ongoing legal battle over its registration and complaints of being denied access to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) candidates’ nomination portal.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Dickson described the developments surrounding the party as “worrisome,” accusing unnamed individuals of searching for excuses to frustrate opposition politics.
“It is worrisome. What people are trying to do is to look for flimsy excuses to truncate, destabilise, weaken and scatter the political opposition,” Dickson said.
His remarks come barely a day after the NDC disclosed that INEC had yet to respond to its request for the access code required to upload the names of its candidates onto the commission’s portal.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, said the NDC had formally approached INEC but was still awaiting a response, adding that the party would seek a stay of execution of the recent Federal High Court judgment delivered in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The Lokoja court had ordered INEC not to recognise the NDC as a political party pending the determination of legal disputes surrounding its registration. The court also set aside its earlier December 2025 judgment that directed INEC to register the party, following a suit by the Peace Movement Party (PMP), which claimed ownership of the logo allegedly used by the NDC.
Despite the ruling, the NDC has maintained that it remains a legally recognised political party, insisting that the judgment did not order its deregistration. The party has vowed to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal while pursuing a stay of execution.
Dickson’s comments add to growing criticism from the party’s leadership, which argues that the legal and administrative hurdles facing the NDC amount to attempts to undermine opposition parties ahead of future political activities.
