NDC raises alarm over alleged APC-sponsored aspirants

By Dickson Omobola

ABUJA — The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, on Thursday alleged that some aspirants seeking political offices on the platform of the party were being sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The party said it had already identified and confronted the affected aspirants, stressing that they would not secure the party’s tickets ahead of the primaries scheduled for Friday.

Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme, the National Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Mr. Osa Director, said the party was determined to prevent infiltration by political opportunists and agents allegedly planted by the ruling party.

He also warned that the NDC was not a special-purpose vehicle for any individual, insisting that no aspirant would ride on the popularity of the Peter Obi-Rabiu Kwankwaso alliance to secure votes or political relevance within the party.

According to him, only aspirants with verifiable political pedigree and demonstrated commitment to the party’s principles and values would be considered for tickets.

“We are not in a position to disclose all of our strategy because we know that we are fighting a behemoth, which is the ruling party.

“During the screening, even though we did not disqualify any person, we confronted some of those aspirants. Do you know that there are aspirants who are in the NDC that are being sponsored by the ruling party? We know that from the various states, and because we also have our intelligence, we confronted them.

“Those ones already know that they are not getting the ticket because we know that they are moles planted in the party,” he said.

Director further quoted the party’s national leader, Seriake Dickson, as saying that the NDC was not a “special multipurpose vehicle” for politicians seeking personal advantage.

“Like the national leader of the party, Seriake Dickson, said, NDC is not a special multipurpose vehicle for anyone, and that is the truth.

“We are ensuring that we are telling members that this is not a special multipurpose vehicle for you. We have some things we have put in place to checkmate these opportunistic charlatans who may want to take advantage of NDC as a vehicle,” he added.

Speaking on aspirants allegedly seeking to benefit from the Obi-Kwankwaso political wave, Director said the party had learnt lessons from the experience of the Labour Party and would not repeat similar mistakes.

“We are not following the playbook of the Labour Party. It is only an inexperienced person that will not learn lessons from history.

“We have learnt from the incident of the past that happened in the Labour Party. And that was why during our screening, we took particular notice of the fact that a lot of people, especially people from the diaspora, who have never participated in politics, rushed to pick forms under the platform of the NDC probably to ride on the Obi-Kwankwaso wave.

“And also because they see that the NDC is a vibrant alternative platform to the mess we are having in the country today. We are conscious of all that,” he said.

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