The National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Seriake Dickson, has broken his silence on the growing controversy involving prominent activist, Aisha Yesufu, claiming that both he and the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had offered her a House of Representatives ticket.
Dickson noted that Yesufu rejected the offer because she was interested in a Senate seat.
Dickson made the disclosure while addressing journalists amid the ongoing dispute triggered by Yesufu’s criticism of the party’s handling of its Federal Capital Territory (FCT) senatorial primary.
According to the former Bayelsa State governor, the party leadership made efforts to accommodate the activist politically, but she declined the offer.
“Do you know that Peter Obi and myself offered Aisha House of Reps, you the public you don’t know. And she turned it down. House of Representatives that people are fighting for, she turned it down. She was feeling too big,” Dickson said.
His comments come amid escalating tensions between Yesufu and the NDC leadership following her failure to secure the party’s FCT senatorial ticket.
GISTSMATE MEDIA had earlier reported that Yesufu openly confronted party leaders, including the National Secretary, Barrister Ikenna Morgan Enekweizu, and members of the National Executive Committee over what she described as irregularities in the selection process.
In a viral video, the activist accused party officials of failing to honour commitments allegedly made regarding the conduct of the primary election.
“The National Secretary did not have what it took to vote for every local government, then he shouldn’t have put out a statement to the world that he was going to do that,” Yesufu had said.
“If we do something, we must stand by our word. It is official, it is outside, it is on our official channels.”
She also expressed frustration over what she described as unfair treatment despite her commitment to the party.
“I’m not even asking for a level playing ground. I’m asking for the ground,” she said.
“I was told repeatedly that I can’t relate to this party. Who does that? My name has been dragged all over the place.”
The activist had further alleged that the FCT senatorial primary was manipulated and predetermined, insisting that the outcome did not reflect a transparent democratic process.
In a statement titled “On the Record: NDC Primaries… A Better Abuja Is Inevitable,” Yesufu maintained that she remained in the race until the end and never withdrew from the contest.
“I did not quit, I did not drop out of the race. I stayed to the end,” she said.
While declining to challenge the outcome in court, she alleged that the process was repeatedly altered through postponements, venue changes and last-minute modifications to the voting procedure.
The dispute deepened after Yesufu publicly criticised Dickson, accusing him of focusing on internal disagreements rather than strengthening the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a post on her X account, she said Dickson’s public comments suggested insecurity and unnecessary competition with the party’s presidential candidate.
“I would like you as the National leader to watch this video again. This part of the interview was so painfully appalling to watch. It looked as if you were insecure and in competition with your Presidential Candidate,” she wrote.
“Your first one-on-one interview after primaries and instead of selling your candidates and giving confidence to people on how set the road to winning the 2027 election was, you made it about yourself.”
She also rejected suggestions that she failed to follow party rules, insisting that she participated fully in the process and even worked to calm disappointed supporters after the primaries.
“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. I played field politics, I never waited for anyone to give me ticket,” she stated.
WARNING: If You Are Not 18+, Don’t Click The Link Below 👇🫣
Did you want to monetize your website, join MONETAG or ADSKEEPER and start earning
Please don’t forget to “Allow the notification” so you will be the first to get our gist when we publish it.
Drop your comment in the section below, and don’t forget to share the post.
Never Miss A Single News Or Gist, Kindly Join Us On WhatsApp Channel:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vad8g81Eawdsio6INn3B
Telegram Channel:
https://t.me/gistsmateNG
