Former Bayelsa State Governor and National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Seriake Dickson, has dismissed allegations that the party awards nomination tickets to the highest bidders, insisting that no aspirant bought their way into securing a ticket.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday, Dickson acknowledged that the party’s recently concluded primaries were not without challenges but rejected claims that money influenced the outcome of the exercises.
He said the NDC leadership was already addressing complaints from members in several states, including Edo and Imo, where some aspirants have alleged irregularities and breaches of party guidelines.
Dickson admitted that the primaries were not perfect, noting that the party had initially planned to deploy electronic voting to improve transparency but was unable to do so because of time and logistical constraints.
According to him, the adoption of direct primaries created additional difficulties for a relatively new political party handling a large number of aspirants across different positions.
“In some constituencies, we had as many as 15 to 20 aspirants contesting for the same ticket. Naturally, that generated intense competition and disagreements,” he said.
Responding to claims that influential figures had hijacked party structures in some states and were determining who gets tickets, Dickson said there was no evidence linking the national leadership of the party to such allegations.
He also rejected suggestions that governorship tickets were reserved for wealthy aspirants.
“The NDC does not sell nomination forms or tickets to the highest bidder. Nobody has produced evidence that the National Working Committee or any member of the party’s national leadership collected money in exchange for tickets,” he stated.
However, he acknowledged that financial strength remains an important factor in politics, saying political parties often consider whether aspirants have the resources required to run competitive campaigns.
“Politics requires resources. Every party assesses the capacity of aspirants to prosecute their campaigns effectively, but that should not be mistaken for selling tickets,” he added.
Despite the controversies surrounding the primaries, Dickson maintained that disagreements within the party were being handled through established internal mechanisms and do not amount to a crisis.
He insisted that the NDC remains focused on strengthening its structures and preparing for future elections.
