The National Leader of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, Senator Seriake Dickson, on Friday held a closed-door meeting with the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, amid recent crises in the party.

Dickson made this known in a statement on his official X handle, revealing that the meeting, which lasted nearly three hours, was attended by Obi and other senior party leaders.

“I just received my brother, colleague, and partner in the New Nigerian Project, His Excellency Mr Peter Gregory Obi, CON, our presidential candidate, who, together with some distinguished leaders of our party, held a closed-door meeting which lasted about three hours.

“In the course of that meeting, we reviewed the activities of our party and discussed a few recent issues that have been a source of concern to all sides, and we amicably resolved all the issues.

“We have always been on the same page on the bigger picture, i.e., winning the elections for all candidates of our party and rescuing Nigeria from the misgovernance of the APC-led government. However, a few issues have arisen, and we have agreed on how to handle them moving forward.

“I want to use this opportunity again to call on all members of our party to stop the bickering and name-calling and focus on the bigger picture.

“Both His Excellency Peter Obi and I, as well as other leaders and stakeholders of our party, will continue to consult and engage with one another to address and resolve concerns, strengthen the unity and cohesion of our party, and ensure that we remain focused on our shared mission of rescuing Nigeria and building a better future for all.”

As Nigeria marks its 27th Democracy Day celebration, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Imo State chapter, has accused the administration of Governor Hope Uzodinma of undermining the rule of law and neglecting democratic principles, including the separation of powers.

The party further accused the administration of eroding public confidence in governance through its style of administration.

In a press statement issued through the office of its spokesperson, Lancelot Obiaku, the party pointed out that the separation of powers and the rule of law are key elements that define true democracy.

The party said that Uzodinma’s leadership has not shown enough commitment to offer Imo people what true democracy looks like, citing incidents of what it described as the arbitrary use of force and power, lack of accountability in the management of public funds, disrespect for the rule of law, and corruption and insecurity being the order of the day over the last six years.

The party emphasised that these situations do not enliven the spirit of the average Imo citizen or inspire hope in democracy amid the Democracy Day commemoration.

“The administration is undermining the roles of the Legislature and the Judiciary, stifling the local government system by keeping it in subjugation, depriving it of resources, and effectively running a government where the Executive operates suo motu without recourse to the other arms of government,” the release stated.

The PDP asserted that the governor’s style of governance negates democratic tenets and has stifled the development of the state.

“We have seen nearly N700 billion in LGA allocations since the inception of the present regime go down the drain, with nothing to show for it—not in the development of rural infrastructure, commerce and industry, education, payment of minimum wage, pensions, and gratuities, among others. Our local government areas do not receive up to 10 percent of their allocations. How then would development get to the grassroots with the greed exhibited by the state government?

“Uzodinma has refused to conduct democratic LGA elections and, having appointed sole administrators in the name of LGA chairmen, has continued to starve the people of the dividends of democracy by depriving them of the government that should ordinarily be closest to them.

“For the first time in the history of the state, Imo went a year without a Chief Judge because the governor wants to run every show without recourse to democratic institutions. When the post became vacant on November 16, 2024, it was incumbent upon the governor to request from the National Judicial Council a recommendation for the appointment of the most senior judicial officer as Chief Judge, in accordance with Section 271(4) of the Nigerian Constitution,” the party added.

Concerning the process of appointing a new Chief Judge, the PDP alleged that instead of the governor writing to the NJC, he went ahead to appoint and swear in Hon. Justice Theophilus Nnamdi Nzeukwu, who it said was not qualified to serve as Acting Chief Judge, an act that prompted the NJC to declare the appointment void.

The PDP stated that the development brought the state into public opprobrium, pointing out that the absence of a Chief Judge for nearly a year meant that cases could not be assigned because only the Chief Judge can do so, in addition to many other functions that only a Chief Judge can perform in a democracy.

“Today in Imo State, contracts awarded by the government are not advertised, and the governor has shut down the Public Procurement Bureau. The process of awarding contracts is kept secret, and not even the State Assembly has a say in them. The costs and other contract details are not made known to the people, who ordinarily are central to governance in a democratic setting.

“We have seen the government recently re-award the World Bank–Umuguma and the Nekede–Iheanwa roads in Owerri for construction. These are roads awarded in 2020 and 2023 by the same administration for tens of billions of naira without anything tangible happening on them. This is the height of theft and sleaze perpetrated by an administration with a morbid inclination toward fraud,” the party further alleged.

The party, while wishing Imo people and Nigerians a happy Democracy Day, urged them to keep faith in democratic governance, assuring them that a bright future lies ahead.

The South-East Woman Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mrs Oby Ajih, has said that her party would record a convincing victory across the entire South-East region during the 2027 election.

Ajih, who spoke in Umuahia during the mid-year prayer and widows’ empowerment programme organised by the Abia APC Woman Leader, noted that the losses suffered by the APC in the South-East during the previous presidential elections in 2015, 2019 and 2023 would not be repeated.

According to her, the performance of President Bola Tinubu in the South-East region and other parts of the country has changed any negative perception held by citizens in the region, noting that the APC would harvest more votes across all polling units in the South-East.

She also dismissed speculation that the kidnapped Otu pupils and their teachers had been abandoned in captivity, assuring parents that the Federal Government is applying the best strategies to secure their release.

“The children are not dead. They will not die. They will come out and they will be rescued by the grace of God,” Mrs Ajih said.

Speaking at the mid-year prayer, the APC Woman Leader in Abia State, Mrs Cecilia Erondu, said all widows in the Abia APC gathered to pray for an end to insecurity in the country and also for good health for President Bola Tinubu and other APC candidates.

Mrs Erondu explained that the support items given to the widows in the Abia APC were meant to improve their livelihoods.