The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) is scheduled to conduct its national convention in Abuja today, national chairman of the party, Senator Moses Cleopas announced yesterday.
Highlight of the convention is the constitution of the NDC National Executive Committee (NEC) which will run the affairs of the party as it takes a major step in preparing for the 2027 elections.
The NEC is also expected to conduct the process for the emergence of the party’s presidential candidate.
The presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election,Mr.Peter Obi is widely seen as NDC’s leading aspirant for the presidential ticket with former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwakwaso as his running mate.
Party sources said the convention would showcase its strength and formalise ongoing political realignments ahead of next year’s elections.
The party has in recent weeks witnessed a wave of defections and high-profile consultations involving major opposition figures, including Obi and Kwankwaso.
Sources yesterday dismissed growing speculations that Kwankwaso himself might be interested in contesting the NDC presidential ticket with Obi.
One of the sources described the reports as unfounded rumour sponsored to create confusion within opposition ranks.
Speaking on the significance of the convention, another source described the event as “epoch-making,” saying the momentum generated by recent defections and consultations had exceeded expectations.
“Our party is like the beautiful bride that every groom wants right now,” the source said.
On reports that Kwankwaso was demanding the presidential ticket instead of a vice-presidential slot in a possible alliance arrangement, another source insisted that no such decision had been taken because discussions on zoning were yet to commence.
“There is no such thing,” the source said while responding to questions on claims that Kwankwaso had insisted on contesting for president rather than serving as deputy to Peter Obi.
“A lot of rumours are flying around. Some are just the figment of the imagination of some people, while some are coming from the camp of the ruling party as a decoy to cause confusion in the ranks of the opposition,” the source stated.
The source stressed that discussions on zoning had not been concluded, insisting that reports assigning positions to potential aspirants were premature.
“The party has not done any zoning,” the source added.
The position aligns with the earlier public statement by the party that it had not zoned the presidency to any region ahead of 2027.
The source further revealed that the NDC was still updating its membership register ahead of the deadline for submission of political parties’ digital registers to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
When asked whether the party was prepared for the submission process, the source said registration remained open because of the increasing number of new entrants into the party.
“We are still updating it because the registration never stopped. We have let people know that registration cannot close,” the source explained.
The source also dismissed insinuations that names were being removed from the party register, insisting there was no deletion exercise underway.
The NDC convention, expected to attract delegates and political stakeholders from across the country, is likely to provide clearer indications on the direction of ongoing opposition coalition talks ahead of the 2027 elections.
