Human rights activist and politician Aisha Yesufu has taken aim at Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) National Leader Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, accusing him of prioritising personal relevance over the party’s preparation for the 2027 general elections.
Yesufu’s broadside followed Dickson’s appearance on Arise Television on Wednesday, where the former Bayelsa State governor addressed concerns over the party’s recently concluded primaries and acknowledged reports of irregularities in the exercise.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the activist said she had honoured the party’s processes despite her reservations, even stepping in to calm supporters who felt shortchanged by the primary outcomes.
“While I take my time to properly address your allusion of me not playing by the rules — which I consider very disingenuous — I let things go and asked my teeming supporters to focus on the bigger picture,” she said, addressing Dickson directly.
“I toured the FCT pacifying my supporters and party people who rightfully felt disrespected as they were all waiting at their respective headquarters for primaries that never happened.”
Yesufu said she found a portion of Dickson’s television interview deeply troubling, alleging he came across as insecure and more preoccupied with his own standing than with the party’s electoral fortunes.
“It looked as if you were in competition with your Presidential Candidate,” she said. “Your first one-on-one interview after primaries, and instead of selling your candidates and giving confidence to people on how to win the 2027 election, you made it about yourself.”
The activist argued that the NDC risked mistaking its registration as an achievement in itself, rather than a vehicle for electoral victory.
“It looks as if you consider the NDC a Special Purpose Vehicle whose aim has been achieved just by being registered, instead of a Political Party whose aim is to win the 2027 General Election decisively,” she said. “The registration of NDC should be a means to an end and not an end in itself.”
Yesufu also faulted Dickson for failing to use his post-primaries platform to unify aggrieved aspirants and rally supporters behind the party.
“Your number one job in that interview was to pacify aspirants, many of whom are rightfully aggrieved, and secondly to call on supporters to bear with the party — but you ended up antagonising the very people you would need to win the election,” she said.
She dismissed any notion that Dickson’s leadership position was under threat, insisting the real focus was on Nigeria’s future.
“No one can take away your leadership of NDC — no one is interested in that! The focus is on Nigeria winning the 2027 election. It looked as if you were fighting a war no one was waging with you. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone, just lead!”
Yesufu further urged Dickson to own the party’s missteps rather than deflect blame, noting that accountability was the only path to institutional growth.
“The party is young. It was overwhelmed. Mistakes will be made. Accepting the mistakes and being accountable is how the party will get better,” she said.
She closed with a rallying call for the opposition to keep its eyes on the prize: “There is a whole battle ahead of us. Rescuing Nigeria from the current state it is in should be the main focus — not people’s fragile ego.”
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