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Ardo’s bellyaching over NDC’s registration, childish, unreasonable – Dickson
An obviously incensed Henry Seriake Dickson, has lashed back at Umar, Convener of the All Democratic Alliance (ADA), for questioning the legality of the registration of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC).
Dickson, former Governor of Bayelsa State and currently a Senator and National Leader of the new party, not only dismissed Ardo’s position as misguided, but questioned his locus for threatening to challenge the outcome of the party registration in court.
The ADA promoter, who appeared as guest on Trust TV, while maintaining that the process that saw the registration of the party was flawed and did not follow due process, told his host that the legal action would also cover any other political party that, in his view, failed to meet statutory requirements but was still registered by the electoral body.
But Dickson, while expressing his disappointment at the posture, especially from someone he saw as a friend with whom he shared close relationship, stated that the ADA boss should have teamed up with the NDC having failed with his own option, adding that on the contrary he should have pursued his own case in court against INEC.
In a lengthy statement over the issue, Dickson, debunked all the allegations of any underhand dealings with the electoral commission, stating how the party’s registration came after the initial rejection by INEC was successfully challenged in court.
Hear him: “Dr. Ardo’s consistent propaganda against the NDC, especially knowing my involvement as founder and national leader, is shocking and speaks to a lack of respect and loyalty to friendship.
“The truth about NDC is in the public domain: The application commenced in 2017, when Dr. Ardo wasn’t even dreaming of registering a political party. The process stalled because INEC, under Dr. Mahmood Yakubu, halted the registration of political parties.
“However, last year when INEC lifted the embargo on registration of political parties, we revived our application and were subsequently listed alongside the 171 political associations.
“We waited to be invited by INEC to participate in the next stages of the registration process, only to receive a letter from INEC stating that our application was declined because our proposed logo, which is the two-finger sign, was similar to that of the APC broom. This was shocking to us and we wrote back to INEC to restate that the logos were in no way similar. INEC persisted and even refused us the opportunity to change the logo, upon our offer to do so.
“We wrote to INEC notifying them of our intention to sue and we went to court over this unlawful exclusion and upon this, the court enforced our rights to freedom of association, deemed us registered and directed INEC to register us, which they have implemented. INEC announced the NDC as one of the political parties in the country and issued a certificate of registration which we thank Prof. Amupitan, SAN, and the INEC, just as we thank the Judiciary.
“INEC did not and has not appealed this judgement, and by the way, the period of appeal has elapsed and no one, except INEC, has the locus standi to appeal the judgement. The judgment has been enforced by INEC and there’s nothing to appeal anymore. Moreover, if INEC who is the defendant has not appealed the judgement which has been accepted, implemented and obeyed, then no one can appeal against such.
“Upon receiving the certificate, we gave the mandatory 21 days notice to INEC and they came about two weeks ago to observe our first NEC, which confirmed our officers and also took dates for our congresses and primaries, to be announced by the party soonest.
“Dr. Ardo is aware of all of this because being a friend, we spoke, where he explained his frustrations stemming from INEC’s refusal to register the ADA. I explained how I faced a similar delay but approached the court and advised him to do same, which he followed.
“I am aware of the challenges he has in court as a result of disputes between him and his fellow promoters of the ADA and the NDC has nothing to do with this and, therefore, can not bear any responsibilities for his disappointment and frustration.
“A few weeks ago, INEC also registered the NDP, which was excluded but went to court and got judgement. And again, INEC chairman and his team did not appeal against it but obeyed the order, registered the party and issued a certificate of registration.
“The NDC is therefore not the only party that was registered as a result of a court order. It is curious that Dr. Adoh is his vituperations, said nothing about the NDP or other registered political parties.
“We are happy with the NDC’s registration and its formal presentation. Nigerians from all over the country and in the diaspora are registering massively and the party is gaining momentum with our officers working hard and promoting it. I am doing same, receiving top politicians from across the country and from all political parties.
“Considering our friendship, if ADA had been registered and NDC were not, I would have felt safe in calling Dr. Ardo’s party my own party and worked to build it in my areas of strength with my friends and allies which is what I expected Dr. Ardo to do, as I have always considered him a political ally and associate who should stand with me to deepen multiparty democracy and stem this drift towards one-party rule.
“While I will not go into reports and insinuations about his motive and those behind it out of respect for our relationship, Dr. Ardo’s activities are inimical to the endangered opposition political ecosystem we are working hard to strengthen.
“Dr. Ardo knows me enough not to associate me with anything less than transparent and honorable, and the NDC is not an exception. Our party is available for all Nigerians who are now helpless and desirous of a change.
“The NDC is also available to all politicians who are stranded as a result of the political developments in the country, who need a platform that is clean and unencumbered with any political crisis. The NDC is an ideological party and stands for a new brand of politics of ideas and service.
“Why are they silent about the other new parties that have been registered?
They are shocked at the giant strides the NDC has taken in less than two months against their expectation that it would be another mushroom party.
“For those who are purveyors of the false news, propaganda and their sponsors, I have bad news for them, they have not seen anything yet! The NDC has come to stay, and will mobilise all across Nigeria.
In summary;
– The NDC is registered because we won the court case compelling INEC to register us which they obeyed without appeal and we thank INEC and the Judiciary for this.
– The time for any appeal has elapsed, judgement has already been complied with and INEC is not complaining, so no one else has a locus standi to challenge this registration.
– There is no existing legal challenge against the NDC. No individual or group has the legal standing to contest the registration of a political party after a court judgement has been duly obeyed and implemented by INEC.
“Those who do not align with our vision are free to support any party or candidate of their choice. However, the spread of falsehoods and sponsored misinformation is unacceptable.
“We also acknowledge that some individuals, including certain political actors, may be fueling these narratives out of apprehension over the NDC’s growing acceptance under my leadership. This is not unexpected.
“I commend Nigerians at home and in the diaspora for their confidence in the NDC. We encourage continued participation and registration as we build a political movement committed to national progress. While some may feel threatened by our momentum, they should be reminded that no force can stop an idea whose time has come.
As Mahatma Gandhi famously said: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win. The NDC will win! Keep registering, keep supporting and keep praying for the NDC and for Nigeria.”
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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