PDP no longer exists, says ex-Bayelsa governor
A former governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, on Tuesday, said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has effectively collapsed.
Dickson, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said the PDP he joined in the mid-2000s no longer exists.
He blamed internal crisis and leadership failure for what he ascribed as the destruction of one of Nigeria’s biggest political platforms.
“The PDP that I came to be part of that PDP has since been killed has since been buried,” he said.
He said the party had lost its identity and no longer represents the platform Nigerians entrusted with power for years.
Dickson noted that the party that once produced successive presidents, including Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, has completely deviated.
“Three presidents were elected back-to-back, but what is left now clearly can not be that same party,” he said.
Dickson said the crisis within the PDP would have been avoided if party leaders had embraced compromise, adding that internal disagreements and refusal to concede by key actors worsened the situation.
“People must agree to be reasonable and place the interest of the party and the country above personal ambition,” he said.
He noted that efforts to stabilise the party, including proposals for a caretaker arrangement, were ignored.
“There were chances that we could rescue the party, but those options were not taken,” he said.
The former governor said he remained in the PDP for years, believing it could still be salvaged, but the reconciliation efforts failed despite multiple interventions.
“I have chaired reconciliation committees under different leaderships, so I know the weaknesses and strengths of the party. It won’t be correct to say that I left PDP. The PDP, unfortunately, has left us.”
He said the party that once prided itself as the biggest political party in Africa has now lost structure and leadership clarity.
On the broader implications, Dickson said the decline of the PDP was a setback for Nigeria’s democracy.
On his next political move, Dickson said he had joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), describing it as a growing opposition platform focused on building its base rather than rushing into coalitions.
