…warns against election manipulation
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA — The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) will inaugurate its Presidential Campaign Council and present certificates of return to its candidates on October 20 as part of preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The National Chairman of the party, Senator Moses Cleopas, disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja after a two-day meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC), explaining that consultations with the party’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates had delayed the constitution of the campaign council.
Cleopas reaffirmed the party’s support for its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, saying the leadership was determined to establish a coordinated campaign structure capable of managing the demands of the forthcoming elections.
He said the delay was deliberate, adding that the party wanted to avoid mistakes in appointing campaign officials and ensure that the structure was properly constituted before full-scale campaigns commenced.
“Constitution and inauguration of presidential campaign council is a responsibility of the party at the highest level. But the party itself cannot do that without recourse to the presidential candidate and the vice-presidential candidate,” he said.
According to him, the candidates must be involved in the process because they would lead the campaign and contest the election on the party’s platform.
Cleopas said the NWC had held several meetings since August and submitted proposals on the campaign structure to the party’s leadership.
“Since after August, this party, as well as the National Working Committee, have had a series of meetings. A blueprint for our campaign council has been drawn and submitted to our leaders,” he said.
“It is better to get it right. It is a sensitive election that we are going into. And we must check characters.”
The NDC chairman said the party would also hold a dinner on October 20 to strengthen cooperation among its candidates ahead of the elections.
He warned against rushing appointments without adequate scrutiny, saying the party needed people whose loyalty and commitment would remain unquestionable throughout the campaign.
“It is not today you are going to have one DG of your campaign and in the middle of the campaign you will hear that your DG is one leg in NDC, one leg somewhere else. It will jeopardise the whole hope of this country,” he said.
Cleopas explained that the NWC had consulted the party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, as well as Obi and Kwankwaso on major decisions, given their political experience and the responsibilities they would assume during the elections.
He said Kwankwaso’s political experience and national reach made his input essential to the campaign structure, just as he described Obi as a nationally recognised political figure whose campaign required careful planning.
“How would you have somebody like Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who is a veteran from the northern element, a Muslim, and you want to have a campaign structure and you will not depend on him? Then why did you give him the ticket to be the vice-presidential candidate?” he asked.
The party had last month announced that Obi and Kwankwaso would nominate key officials of the campaign council in consultation with its leadership.
Under the arrangement, the candidates are expected to nominate the Director-General, Deputy Director-General for the North, campaign spokesperson and deputy spokesperson, Head of New Media, Finance Director and Deputy Finance Director, among other officials.
The party also said the Finance Director and deputy would work with the National Treasurer to manage campaign funds in line with transparency and accountability requirements, including the obligation to render accounts to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Cleopas said nominations had also been received from stakeholders across the country, adding that the final structure would be announced and inaugurated after the candidates submitted their recommendations.
NDC vows to match APC ‘fire for fire’
The NDC chairman also vowed that the party would match the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) “fire for fire” before, during and after the 2027 general elections, while insisting that it would defend its votes and pursue victory within the law.
He warned against attempts to manipulate the electoral process or prevent the will of the electorate from prevailing, declaring that the party was prepared to contest all elective positions.
“Our commitment to the elections is sacrosanct. Our resolve is absolute,” he said.
Cleopas said the NDC had fielded candidates for the presidency, Senate, House of Representatives, governorship and state Houses of Assembly, adding that the party intended to challenge the APC-led government at all levels.
He accused the ruling party of spreading false information about the NDC’s participation in the elections, insisting that the party remained prepared for the contest.
The chairman also dismissed reports of divisions within the NDC over its presidential ticket, saying the party’s leadership at the national, state, local government and ward levels remained firmly behind Obi and Kwankwaso.
“I want us to know today that the entire leadership of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, from the national leader to me, the national chairman, NWC, state chapters, local government chapters and ward chapters, are solidly behind all our candidates,” he said.
Describing Obi and Kwankwaso as the best combination for the country, Cleopas argued that the ticket could appeal across religious, ethnic and regional lines.
“We believe that the NDC have the best of candidates, Mr Peter Gregory Obi and Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. That pair, if you want to talk of religious lines, tribal lines, or Nigeria as a nation, there is no pair that can beat that right now,” he said.
He also defended the party’s decision not to conduct a competitive presidential primary, saying its leadership had been clear about its preferred direction.
“We were clear on the direction we were going, and no regrets,” he said.
Cleopas dismissed suggestions that the party had become inactive or was divided, citing consultations and town hall meetings held by its presidential candidate and other party officials across the country.
“We have been in Sokoto, we have been in Kaduna, on the 15th, we shall be in Enugu. So it is not to mean that we have not been working,” he said.
Defends Dickson over alleged APC links
The NDC chairman also rejected allegations that Dickson was working with the APC or President Bola Tinubu to undermine Obi’s presidential ambition.
He said Dickson had deliberately chosen not to pursue the presidency and had instead provided the NDC platform for Obi and Kwankwaso to contest the 2027 election.
Cleopas challenged those making the allegations to explain why the national leader would have relinquished the opportunity to seek the presidency if he intended to undermine the party’s candidates.
According to him, Dickson had rejected suggestions that he should use the party he helped establish to pursue his own presidential ambition.
“Senator Seriake Dickson said, ‘No, no, no, no, no. That is not my pattern of politics. I have not made up my mind now to contest for presidential election, and so I can’t go deceiving’,” Cleopas quoted him as saying.
He further questioned why Dickson would have declined the presidential ticket if he intended to use the party to negotiate with the ruling APC.
“Do they even think, if he wanted to play so, couldn’t he have taken the presidential ticket of this party and by now all of us would have aligned with APC, which was most convenient at the time?” he asked.
Cleopas urged the media to reject what he described as false propaganda against the party’s leadership, saying factual reporting was important ahead of the 2027 elections.
NDC begins recruitment of polling agents
On preparations for the elections, Cleopas disclosed that the party had commenced efforts to recruit and train polling agents, drawing lessons from what he described as challenges encountered during the 2023 presidential election.
He said the party was activating its structures across the states to ensure that its agents were adequately positioned to protect its votes.
According to him, senatorial and House of Representatives candidates would work with stakeholders in their constituencies to nominate agents for federal elections, while governorship and state House of Assembly candidates would coordinate similar arrangements at the state level.
The chairman said vote protection would be a major priority for the party in 2027, urging voters to remain at polling units until their votes were counted and properly transmitted through the electoral process.
“Voting alone is not it, but vote and protect your vote, and make sure that your vote gets to the point that it will be counted for,” he said.
Cleopas expressed confidence in the party’s prospects, particularly among young Nigerians, whom he described as the country’s largest voting bloc.
He said the NDC was being developed as an institution that would provide young people with greater opportunities to participate in politics and leadership.
The chairman also urged all party candidates to work closely with the NDC’s established structures rather than conduct independent campaigns.
“There is no candidate that is running an independent campaign or an independent election,” he said, adding that every candidate must work with the party because their candidacies were products of its platform.
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