The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced that all aspirants who purchased Expression of Interest forms will be allowed to participate in the party’s forthcoming primaries across the country.
The decision was reached after extensive deliberations involving party leaders, members of the National Working Committee and the Selection Committee headed by former governor, Sam Egwu.
The party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, disclosed the development in a statement shared on his X handle on Thursday.
According to him, the party adopted the decision after reviewing the large number of aspirants seeking its ticket and considering the limited time available before the primaries.
“Following the briefing at the joint meeting of the Selection Committee and Screening Committee, it was decided that all those who purchased Expression of Interest forms would be allowed to participate in the primaries in their various constituencies,” Dickson stated.
He explained that only candidates who emerge successful from the primary elections would proceed to the party secretariat for further documentation and payment of nomination fees.
Dickson also revealed that the party had already deployed teams to various states to oversee the conduct of the primaries with support from stakeholders and local party leaders.
He urged members of the committees to ensure fairness, transparency and credibility throughout the exercise.
“Our party is women- and youth-friendly. We urge the teams to be fair, open and ensure that only credible candidates with winning capacity emerge,” he said.
The former Bayelsa State governor further warned against any form of violence or misconduct during the primaries, stressing that the party would maintain zero tolerance for violence.
“We call for violence-free primaries and reiterate our zero tolerance for violent behaviour,” he added.
Dickson stated that the party would rely on manual direct primaries for the current exercise due to time constraints but noted that future primaries would be conducted electronically.
“As I said earlier, this will be the last manual primary. Future exercises will be fully electronic,” he said.
He also appealed to party members to support the process, noting that the NDC is focused on building a strong and lasting political institution rather than promoting individual interests.
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