The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) National Leader, Seriake Dickson, has admitted there were irregularities in their recently concluded primaries.
Dickson stated this in a post on his official X handle on Thursday.
He urged that while the primaries were not flawless, members should remain patient with the party as it navigates the challenges associated with its rapid growth.
Last night, I had an interview with Arise TV, where I sympathised with our aspirants over some noticeable irregularities in our just-concluded primaries. I noted that, while not claiming that the exercise was perfect, I urged all of them to bear with the party in view of the circumstances we are managing,” he said.
According to him, the challenges encountered during the primaries are not unique to the NDC, noting that larger and more established political parties have faced similar issues.
“We are just four months old and have been thrown into the middle of a very tight electoral timeframe, within which we had to carry out membership registration, congresses up to the national convention, primaries, appeal processes, and now the reconciliation phase,” he said.
The former Governor of Bayela State attributed many of the complaints surrounding the primaries to the direct primary system mandated under the Electoral Act.
“My views on the Electoral Act have been clear: the APC-led majority were wrong in foisting compulsory direct primaries on political parties and the country. Complaints about irregularities in direct primaries are pervasive across all parties and are not peculiar to the NDC,” he stated.
