NDC moves to cash in on APC’s post-primary controversies in Bayelsa

By Omeiza Ajayi

The National Democratic Congress NDC is quietly moving to capitalise on the fallout from the All Progressives Congress APC primaries in Bayelsa State, home of its national leader, Senator Seriake Dickson. 

National oordinator of the Sagbama/Ekeremor Grassroots Agenda, Comrade Felix Osuobene, who revealed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said Senator Dickson was indeed spotted celebrating the post-primary crisis in the APC, with specific reference to the Sagbama/Ekeremor federal constituency seat in the State, where Hon. Bernard Kenibai emerged as the APC candidate. 

He pointed out that the APC’s controversies involving screening disputes, aspirant disqualifications, and internal tensions across multiple states have already generated significant national media attention.

According to him, opposition strategists are increasingly convinced that the ruling party’s internal crisis has handed them a valuable political opening ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said the development reflects a broader opposition calculation that the ruling party has weakened itself in a constituency it can ill-afford to lose.

“Our sources confirmed that the national leader of NDC, Senator Seriake Dickson was seen celebrating the emergence of Hon. Bernard Kenibai as the APC candidate; viewed in political circles as an easier adversary,” Osuobene stated.

The controversy centres on Prof. Princewill Woyinbrakemi Igbagara, a respected academic and technocrat from the constituency who had reportedly built considerable grassroots and elite support and was widely regarded as the frontrunner before his alleged unlawful exclusion from the ballot.

Osuobene described the exclusion as a costly miscalculation by the APC, particularly given President Bola Tinubu’s standing directive that the party present its strongest candidates at every level in 2027.

Opposition insiders, according to Osuobene, believe the NDC now has three clear pathways to exploit the crisis. “The first is voter apathy. If aggrieved APC stakeholders feel sufficiently marginalized, many may simply refuse to mobilize for the party come election day — a potentially devastating outcome in a contest where presidential victories are built on the loyalty of local structures and grassroots foot soldiers.

“The second pathway is silent defection. Nigeria’s political history is littered with cases of discontented party loyalists who remain publicly committed to their party while quietly delivering votes to the opposition. The NDC is well positioned to attract frustrated political actors from within the APC who are searching for an alternative platform.

“The third and perhaps most immediate advantage is propaganda. Opposition parties thrive politically when the ruling party appears divided. 

“For a party like the NDC — which is actively marketing itself as a cleaner, fairer political alternative — the spectacle of APC tearing itself apart in Sagbama/Ekeremor is ready-made campaign material.

“The stakes are particularly high in the South-South, where the APC has historically struggled to build a durable, unified structure. In Bayelsa State especially, the optics of excluding a well-regarded constituency son from a primary race risk reinforcing longstanding perceptions that the party is neither inclusive nor internally democratic — perceptions the NDC is eager to deepen.

“Even if the APC leadership believes it acted within party guidelines, the emotional reaction of supporters on the ground may produce unintended political consequences.

“In regions where the APC seeks to expand its influence, particularly the South-South, controversies that alienate local stakeholders could become valuable political capital for opposition movements like the NDC”, he warned.

With the 2027 election cycle drawing closer and President Tinubu’s re-election machinery beginning to take shape, the NDC appears determined to ensure that every crack in the APC’s armour — however localised — is widened into a national conversation about the ruling party’s fitness to govern.

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