By Our Correspondent
The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC ,has raised the alarm over alleged infiltration of its ranks by aspirants it claimed, are being covertly sponsored by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, warned that such individuals will not secure tickets in the party’s primaries scheduled for Friday.
According to the publicity secretary, the NDC’s leadership had identified the suspected APC-backed aspirants during the screening exercise and directly confronted them, though, he added, none was formally disqualified at that stage.
“We are not disclosing all our strategies because we are up against a strong ruling party,” Director said, adding that intelligence available to the party had informed its screening decisions.
He stressed that only aspirants with proven political experience and demonstrable commitment to the party’s ideals would be allowed to contest under its platform, insisting that the NDC would not serve as a vehicle for political opportunists regardless of where they came from.
Director referenced remarks attributed to the NDC leader and former governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, who had earlier cautioned that the party should not be treated as a special-purpose vehicle for personal ambition.
He also drew lessons from the Labour Party’s recent internal turbulence, saying the NDC was determined to avoid a similar crisis by being selective about the calibre of entrants it welcomes, including those he said, were joining from the diaspora purely to exploit the party’s rising political profile.
While reaffirming that the NDC remains open to new members, Director said the party’s priority was to protect the integrity of its structure and ensure that only committed, credible members emerged as candidates from the forthcoming primaries.
