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…As NDC National Leader Urges Youths To Defy Intimidation, Says Ruling APC Has Brought Nigeria From Top To Bottom
ABUJA, NIGERIA — The Dickson Movement for Democracy, also known as The Dickson Movement, on Wednesday paid a solidarity visit to the Abuja residence of the National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, and decorated him as its Grand Patron.
The delegation was led by the National Coordinator of the movement, Comrade Emmanuel Ogbidi, alongside members of its national executive.
Why We Chose Senator Dickson As Our Role Model — Ogbidi
Speaking on purpose of visit, Comrade Ogbidi said the movement was formed to address leadership deficit in Nigeria and groom young ideologues anchored on prudence, accountability, transparency and selflessness in service.
“We have looked at the political space of our country, Nigeria, and we have sensed a great void. There is a high level of leadership deficit in this country, and there is need for us to begin to groom young leaders, ideologues, who will leverage on very sacred principles of prudence, accountability, transparency, selflessness in leadership,” Ogbidi said.
“We took a microscopic view into this political space and asked ourselves, who is capable of being a role model to us? Who is capable of mentoring us, guiding us, and who we can sit under his tutelage? Having engaged on a very rigorous search and analysis, some of those criteria pointed directly to your person,” he added.
Ogbidi said many young Nigerians were losing hope and planning to leave the country as Nigeria drifted towards one-party state, with mass defections to ruling party becoming fashionable.
“Suddenly, we saw the emergence of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, the NDC, which you are the founder and the vision bearer. While everybody was moving and following the crowd, you decided to create a path for the crowd to follow. You said Nigeria must not slide into a one-party state. And today, the party you gave birth to has become the major opposition party in Nigeria,” he said.
He chronicled Dickson’s history as young lawyer, opposition figure and serial winner of elections as opposition, describing him as leader with capacity to mentor young democrats.
The group formally appealed to Dickson to accept to be Grand Patron of the movement, noting that its long-term vision goes beyond 2027 elections to grooming leaders that will serve Nigeria and sustaining multi-party and constitutional democracy.
“The 2027 election is just a project in The Dickson Movement for Democracy. It is a long-term vision for grooming leaders and ideologues that will serve this country,” Ogbidi said.
He disclosed that within few weeks of formation, membership registration has hit over 10,000 across country.
“We will mobilise horizontally and vertically across this country to support all candidates of the NDC on one hand, and also to mobilise Nigerians to defend and protect the votes of NDC, so that at the end of this election not a single vote belonging to the NDC will be missing,” Ogbidi pledged.
You Have Ambushed Me — Dickson Thanks Group, Declares NDC Is Backbone Of New Nigeria
Responding after decoration, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson thanked the movement on behalf of his family, friends, associates and the NDC.
“I didn’t know about it, but I know that there are a number of people who have set up a number of groups and I was hoping that one day I would be able to find time to ask and they all work together. But you guys have ambushed me,” Dickson said jokingly.
“Whatever you do to me, for me, now, is something we are doing as a party. So I express not just my personal appreciation and that of my family and friends and allies, but also of the party,” he added.
Dickson commended the youths for organising themselves in difficult economic times occasioned by APC administration, defying insecurity and contributing scarce resources to travel and organise.
“Thank you for what you are doing. And I urge that more young people in Nigeria should do things like this. Not just about me or in my name, but to do things to support those who are in the struggle for a new Nigeria,” he said.
We Want To Win Presidency On First Ballot — Dickson
The NDC National Leader said presidential election is very important to the party, stressing that NDC wants to win presidency on first ballot and majority of National Assembly seats to run government of reform and transformation.
“The ruling party from 2015 to now, as I said, they have brought the country from top to bottom. And now they are busy digging the ground to bury the entire country. And God will not allow that,” Dickson declared.
“That is why our party and our candidates, led by the presidential candidate, they are leading the charge. That is the top of the ticket. Very important for us. As well as the down ballot, NDC all the way,” he said.
He described NDC ticket as ticket of restoration, with agenda to stop killings, banditry, kidnappings and insecurity, restore education and healthcare, reorganise economy from consumption to production, open up SMEs, agricultural value chain and manufacturing, and unify country.
“So much work to be done on national security. To stop the killings, the banditry, the kidnappings, and the insecurity across all parts of the country. We have so much work to do on education and restore local education and infrastructure and systems. So much work to do on health care,” he said.
Dickson called on young Nigerians to defy intimidation and inducement, accusing ruling party of weaponising poverty.
“I know about the organisation of poverty now. Where people have been made so helpless and hopeless that they are now begging for crumbs. Nigerians have to stand in lines, in queues.
Some dying and getting injured in the process to be able to eat again. And they are dangling the carrots as if to say we should thank them for destroying the country,” he said.
“We trust that the young people of Nigeria, we trust that the women of Nigeria, we trust that the generality of the Nigerian people will see progress and on election day, remember the insecurity, remember the poverty and the hunger, and vote for the ticket of change,” he added.
He urged movement to work with party structures at state level, campaign coordinators and DG of campaign to galvanise grassroots base and prevent vote theft.
“The NDC is willing, the NDC is happy to work with all support groups. Support groups are our backbone of support at the grassroots level. Now is time for them to link with their appropriate systems at the state level. Link with all officers so that they can galvanise the base and prevent people from stealing their votes. And the system of one man, one vote,” Dickson said.
“We are not for violence. We are not for abuses. We want the ruling party to justify their re-election claim. Because as I said, a re-election is a referendum on a sitting government. They have not done well and they will be rejected,” he concluded.
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