The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced that all aspirants who purchased Expression of Interest forms will be allowed to participate in its upcoming primaries across the country.
The decision followed long hours of deliberations involving party leaders, members of the National Working Committee, and the Selection Committee, led by a former governor, Sam Egwu, who submitted the screening report after several days of work.
The party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, disclosed the development in a post shared on X on Thursday.
He said the party had reviewed the large number of aspirants who showed interest in its ticket and decided to adopt a more inclusive approach due to time constraints.
“Following the briefing at the joint meeting of the Selection Committee and Screening Committee, it was decided that all those who purchased Expression of Interest forms would be allowed to participate in the primaries in their various constituencies,” he said.
Dickson explained that only successful candidates after the process would be required to proceed to the party secretariat for documentation and payment of nomination forms.
He added that the party had deployed teams across the states to conduct the primaries with the support of stakeholders and local leaders.
“Our party is women- and youth-friendly. We urge the teams to be fair, open and ensure that only credible candidates with winning capacity emerge,” he said.
He also warned against violence during the process, saying the party would not tolerate any form of misconduct.
“We call for violence-free primaries and reiterate our zero tolerance for violent behaviour,” he added.
According to him, the party will rely on manual direct primaries due to time constraints, but plans to adopt electronic systems in future elections.
“As I said earlier, this will be the last manual primary. Future exercises will be fully electronic,” he stated.
Dickson further urged members to support the process, saying the party is being built as a long-term political institution rather than a platform for individual interests.