FULL TEXT: SPEECH OF HENRY SERIAKE DICKSON, NATIONAL LEADER OF NDC AT INAUGURAL NATIONAL CONVENTION HELD IN ABUJA ON MAY 9, 2026

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“First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, and then you win.” — Mahatma Gandhi

My fellow compatriots, leaders, and delegates.

I join the National Chairman and members of the Protem National Executive Committee to warmly welcome you all to our nation’s capital and to this historic venue for our inaugural national convention.

Today, I address you with a deep sense of honour, gratitude, and responsibility as we gather for a convention whose primary purpose is to affirm and elect our protem national leadership and further strengthen the foundation of our great party.

I use this opportunity to sincerely thank Nigerians from all walks of life for the trust and confidence they have reposed in me and in the leaders of our party, believing in the ideals upon which the NDC was founded — ideals of service, national unity and cohesion, political inclusion, women and youth empowerment, and the protection of democratic values.

As you all know, this party is barely three months old, yet no political party in the history of our country has enjoyed this level of acceptance, enthusiasm, and trust from Nigerians within such a short period of time as the NDC has received.

You will recall that, in our collective effort to establish an alternative opposition platform that would keep the flames of Nigeria’s multi-party democracy alive, we first sought to register this party as far back as 2017, when I realised that the foundations of my party—the PDP, had been weakened and the ideals compromised. Unfortunately, that effort did not materialise at the time.

However, when INEC resumed party registration last year, we revisited and updated our earlier application. Even then, when we encountered bureaucratic bottlenecks that violated our constitutional right to freedom of association, we approached the courts, and in December 2025, judgment was delivered in our favour. That judgment was duly served on INEC, which complied and issued us our certificate of registration in February this year.

Following that, I publicly announced my involvement and role in this great party, and we immediately commenced nationwide mobilisation and sensitisation. Since then, Nigerians from every region of our country, North, South, East, and West, have embraced and shared in our vision.

I thank the Judiciary for upholding our constitutional rights to freedom of association in the judgment at the Federal High Court that led to the registration of our party. I equally commend INEC and its Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, who obeyed the court judgements in respect of the NDC and the NDP, which was registered later.

While INEC and the judiciary did well in the case of NDC and NDP, they should also do well to ensure the survival of multi-party democracy—the survival of PDP, ADC, Labour Party, SDP, NNPP, and all other opposition parties. Nigeria needs a strong party in government and also strong parties in opposition.

Let me say that, contrary to propaganda, there is no appeal against the judgement by INEC or by anyone. The judgment has been obeyed and implemented fully, and besides, the timeline for appeal has since passed, and only INEC has the proper locus standi, and they have not appealed.

About a week ago, two influential figures in our nation’s political history, His Excellency Peter Obi and His Excellency Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, officially joined our party after weeks of consultations and engagements with me. I thank them specially for their trust, confidence, and partnership, both in the journey so far and in the journey ahead.

This partnership represents a unique convergence of political experience, administrative competence, national reach, and a shared hope for the future of Nigeria.

I also deeply appreciate the supporters of His Excellency Peter Obi and the Obidient Movement across Nigeria and beyond. I equally thank the supporters of His Excellency Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso and the Kwankwasiyya Movement across the country and across the world.

And to all Nigerians who have believed in me, my values, my ideology, and our collective vision over their years, I assure you that this coalition of experience and patriotism will not disappoint you.

All of us gathered here today have a long history of sacrifice and service, particularly within the opposition. We have endured intimidation, propaganda, deprivation, blackmail, harassment, and countless obstacles in our democratic journey. And if those pressures did not break us before, they will not break us now, and they will never break us.

I therefore assure all delegates, members of our party, and indeed all Nigerians, that you are on the right path, and the NDC is in safe hands.

We have assembled at a defining moment in the life of our nation—a time of worsening insecurity, economic hardship, deepening poverty, growing national division, and declining public trust in government and institutions. Our duty in the NDC is to reverse these dangerous trends.

The NDC was founded as an ideological party determined to do politics differently— politics of service, politics of dialogue, politics of consensus-building, politics of inclusion, politics of respect for all Nigerians, politics of unity rather than division, and politics that restores dignity to our people and pride to our nation. In the coming days, our programmes, policies, and plans for Nigeria will become clearer to all Nigerians.

To all Nigerians, the NDC is here to serve you, as our motto clearly states. For me, my life is one dedicated to service—to man and service to God Almighty.

To our compatriots in other opposition parties, you are our co-travellers in the democratic struggle, and we intend to build strong channels of cooperation and communication in the collective interest of preserving multi-party democracy in Nigeria.

And to our brothers, friends, and colleagues in the APC, let me say clearly: you are not our enemies. You are fellow citizens with whom we simply disagree politically. We disagree with the direction the APC has taken Nigeria since 2015, and we have formed the NDC as a platform to offer a better path for our nation.

Our vision is to build an enduring political institution that will outlive all of us; a party founded on values and ideas, much like the ANC in South Africa, the Congress Party and BJP in India, the Republican and Democratic Parties in the United States, and the Conservative and Labour Parties in the United Kingdom, and others.

We must bring an end to the culture of politicians jumping from one political party to another without ideological conviction. We must build a democratic culture where parties are defined by ideas and values, and where politicians remain committed to principles irrespective of electoral outcomes.

This conviction explains my own political journey and service. In 1998, as a young man, I participated in building and working for the Movement for Democracy and Justice (MDJ), and later the Alliance for Democracy (AD). I later worked with the ANPP in opposition politics.

Even after the PDP lost power in 2015, I remained firmly in the opposition and worked tirelessly, at great personal cost, to sustain opposition politics and democratic plurality in Nigeria while serving as Governor in my home state of Bayelsa.

I remained a leading opposition figure, and amongst other positions, I chaired the PDP Governors’ Forum and served severally as chairman of the PDP National Reconciliation Committee for years.

Against the allure of an easy transition, as my term ended, and the patronage of the ruling party, I stayed in the PDP and fought a bruising electoral battle to install my successor while in the opposition. After ending my tenure of governorship, I have won two successive terms in the Senate, still in the opposition.

In the Nigerian Senate, I have been a leading and oftentimes lonely voice in the opposition in the fight for democratic ideals and in the quest to hold the Executive to account. I am not one who is scared of standing alone or saying NO when NO is the right answer. My political life is defined by service, courage of conviction, compassion, patriotism, consensus-building, and steadfastness, while living a simpxle life.

Despite the waves of defections that have affected several political parties in recent years, I have remained committed to opposition politics at great cost.

I resisted every pressure and inducement to join the ruling party — not because I hate anyone, but because some of us must make sacrifices to entrench democracy and preserve multi-party politics in Nigeria.

Any political system without a credible opposition is a dictatorship, and Nigeria must never become a dictatorship— civilian or otherwise.
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Events and circumstances have therefore compelled my colleagues and I to establish this platform, and I thank all Nigerians and all our leaders for joining us in this patriotic mission.
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I thank the protem executives who first applied for the registration of this association under my guidance and who have remained committed members and leaders of the NDC.
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I equally appreciate the National Working Committee, the Convention Committee, and all those working tirelessly day and night to ensure the success of this convention.
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I thank all our officials, party leaders, ward executives, local government structures, and supporters across the federation for their hard work and sacrifice within such a short period of time. You have all proven the skeptics wrong. NDC has come to stay!
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Today, despite insecurity, economic hardship, threats, intimidation, blackmail, and propaganda, our delegates have travelled from every corner of Nigeria to be part of this historic gathering. Your presence here is proof that Nigerians are ready for a new direction.
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It is our expectation that this convention will successfully affirm and elect our protem leadership, after which we shall begin the process of selecting our party’s flag bearers for various offices, including the Presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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We look forward to reconvening in this great city very soon for those important national decisions.
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As you return safely to your various homes and states, I urge you to continue the mobilisation, sensitisation, and expansion of our great party.
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I enjoin all our members and supporters to eschew violence, division, and acrimony, and espouse the NDC ideals of peaceful, respectful, and nonviolent politics of ideas.
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In the coming weeks and months, we shall take our differences with the ruling party to all communities, local governments, wards, states, and finally polling units. These differences will be decided at the polling units, and not through violence.
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Nigeria must never be reduced to a one-party state. Through the NDC, Nigerians will continue to resist state capture, resist authoritarianism, and defend multi-party democracy.