The National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Seriake Dickson, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would be defeated in the 2027 general elections if the polls are conducted freely and fairly.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Dickson said widespread dissatisfaction with the APC-led administration would translate into electoral defeat for the ruling party.

“As leader of the NDC, and as a Nigerian who knows the feelings and yearnings of Nigerians, and who also knows that their aspirations have not been met, we believe that the APC government, the APC as a party, not just the President, will be defeated massively,” he said.

He called for an open democratic process, urging authorities to allow all political parties to participate in the elections without interference.

“Allow every party that wants to contest. You can only defeat them in an electoral contest. So, let us have a free and fair election,” Dickson added.

The former Bayelsa State governor also said the NDC remained open to discussions with other opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections, although he expressed hope that any eventual coalition would support the party’s candidates.

“As an opposition leader, our party, the NDC, will be open to conversations within that space,” he said.

“We hope that whatever discussions take place will lead to the NDC candidates being backed because we know the value of the candidates we are putting forward.”

Dickson, however, said it was too early to predict the outcome of any coalition talks.

“We are not claiming superiority. After the nomination process has ended, we will move into another phase of discussions. Whether there will be an agreement, I don’t know. We will try. Where it will lead, I don’t know, but all those are options that remain open,” he stated.

His comments come amid ongoing efforts by opposition parties to forge alliances ahead of the 2027 polls following political realignments involving former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi.

Dickson also dismissed a lawsuit seeking the deregistration of the NDC, describing it as “frivolous” and politically motivated.

He maintained that the legal challenge would not affect the party’s participation in future elections, insisting that all its candidates would be on the ballot.

According to him, the party complied with all constitutional and legal requirements during its registration and remains confident in both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary.

The former governor also rejected claims challenging the NDC’s logo, arguing that no individual or organisation could claim exclusive ownership of the internationally recognised peace sign, which he said has been used for decades by prominent global and Nigerian leaders.

The National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Seriake Dickson, has described as frivolous and embarrassing every action behind the party’s deregistration ruling.

Dickson made this remark during an interview on ‘Sunday Politics’, a programme on Channels Television.

He was speaking on the judgment of the Federal High Court in Lokoja which set aside its earlier ruling directing the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to register the  NDC as a political party.

He said that the NDC remains a registered political party, noting that the ruling did not contain any mandatory order directing INEC to deregister the party

“Every action behind deregistration ruling is frivolous and embarrassing. Right now, the NDC remains a registered political party.

“What people are trying to do is to look for flimsy excuses to truncate the political opposition, destabilise, weaken and scatter the political opposition,” he said.

The Certified True Copy of the Federal High Court judgment ordering the deregistration of the Nigeria Democratic Congress has emerged.

The judgment, delivered by Justice Isa H. Dashen at the Lokoja Judicial Division, effectively sets aside a December 10, 2025 judgment that had previously compelled the Independent National Electoral Commission to register the party.

The court said the prior judgment was nullified because it affected the legal rights of the Peace Movement Party, which claimed ownership of the logo used by the NDC but was never joined as a party to the original lawsuit.

Recall that the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, on Saturday said that the commission was waiting to obtain the official paperwork before finalizing its response.

“We have applied for the Certified True Copy of the judgment. Until we receive it, we cannot be in a position to comment on it. However, the position that existed before the December 10, 2025 judgment was that INEC rejected NDC’s letter of intent to be registered as a political party,” Haruna explained.

The NDC had said that it has already been denied the portal access codes needed to upload its candidate list for the 2027 general elections. 

In response to the portal denial, the National Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Osa Director, confirmed that their efforts to secure the necessary credentials were unsuccessful.

“We approached INEC to collect the access code to upload the names of our candidates to the INEC portal. They told us that they will get back to us,” Director said.