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2027: Dickson’s move to quit PDP sparks debate
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The senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, on Wednesday, set off a fresh round of political calculations after announcing that he would make a “major announcement” on Thursday.
The move was widely interpreted as a formal declaration of his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to a new party.
The former Bayelsa State governor, who serves on the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters, is expected to unveil his next political steps at a press conference scheduled for 2:00 pm on Thursday.
Comments on his post on X and speculations pointed to a newly formed party, the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
The NDC, a new political party recently registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, is touted as the next destination for the Bayelsa West senator to challenge the All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State.
The development follows the defection of Governor Douye Diri from the PDP to the APC, a move that altered the state’s political equation and unsettled the opposition structure.
Dickson, however, stopped short of naming his next political destination in a terse statement posted on his official X handle on Wednesday.
He wrote, “A Major Announcement is Coming!!! Tomorrow, Thursday, 5th March 2026, at 2:00 PM. I will be making an important statement at a Press Conference addressing the future of our people and our democracy.
“Stay tuned. Be ready. Be part of the moment. #NDC #NigeriaPolitics #2027Elections.”
Despite the suggestive hashtags, the senator was mum on specifics.
When contacted, his aide, Ajiri Daniel, also declined comment on the planned defection.
“Let us not be in a hurry. Senator Dickson will address whatever questions you will raise at the press conference tomorrow,” he said.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress is one of two political parties recently registered by INEC under the leadership of its Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, during the commission’s first regular consultative meeting with political parties in February 2026.
Amupitan disclosed that out of 171 political associations that applied for registration, only the Democratic Leadership Alliance met all statutory requirements, while the NDC was registered in compliance with a Federal High Court order.
The NDC’s entry into the political arena has already begun reshaping alignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly in states like Bayelsa, where party loyalties are fluid.
Dickson’s cryptic message triggered a flurry of reactions on social media, reflecting both support and scepticism.
Reacting to his post, a certain Elder Otunba @de_generalnoni stated, “There’s nothing major. You are going to ADC! You are irrelevant in the game squad!”
The Duke of Nigeria @xagreat also said, “I hope you are not joining the devilish APC.”
“You will be buried politically if you make the mistake of defecting to ADC,” another X user, Olalekan Ojomu, warned.
However, @sir_dollf praised him, saying, “The good people of Bayelsa will stand with you!!!! The Ofurumapepe of the ND.”
On Facebook, a legal practitioner, Igu Emmanuel, said, “The last man standing. I hope you are not planning to decamp to APC. Please do not. I like your boldness.”
A digital creator, Daniel Usoro, also jeered, saying, “Announcements by Nigerian politicians no longer surprise us.”
When contacted for reaction, the factional National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ini Emomobong, declined immediate comment.
“I just boarded a plane now. Let us talk later when I disembark,” he told our correspondent.
Dickson has long positioned himself as a vocal critic of the ruling APC and remains one of the most prominent opposition figures in the Senate.
His influence within Bayelsa politics, where he previously served as governor, has often made him a rallying point for anti-APC forces in the state.
His planned move comes barely three weeks after he urged members of the Senate and House of Representatives conference committee on the Electoral Amendment Bill to adopt in full the version passed by the House, warning that any dilution of the electronic transmission provision could undermine electoral integrity.
That push ultimately failed, as President Bola Tinubu assented to the controversial 2026 Electoral Act amendment after the National Assembly passed it into law amid protests from opposition parties and civil society groups.
With the PDP weakened in Bayelsa following Diri’s defection, Dickson’s expected switch to the NDC signals a potential realignment of opposition politics in the oil-rich state.
Whether the move consolidates a new opposition bloc or further fragments the anti-APC front will likely become clearer after Thursday’s much-anticipated announcement.
Fresh reports from Kogi State say the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership has quietly lined up former Governor Yahaya Adozi Bello and two sitting senators for unopposed runs in the 2027 senatorial elections.
Party insiders claim the automatic tickets are already reserved for three names:
Alh. Yahaya Adozi Bello (Kogi Central) Senator Jibrin Isah Echocho (Kogi East) , Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West)
Bello’s Move to the Senate
The headline here is Yahaya Bello stepping forward for the Kogi Central seat. If it sticks, the man known as the “White Lion” will trade Government House for the National Assembly. Analysts see it as a calculated step to keep his influence alive at both state and federal levels.
A frontline Support Group for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has lauded the nomination of Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, as a Minister from Oyo State.
Tinubu had on Thursday, sent the name of Chief Tegbe as the ministerial nominee from Oyo State, to replace Hon. Adebayo Adelabu.
Adelabu had resigned as Minister of Power a week ago, to enable him run for the governorship of Oyo State.
In a statement signed on Friday by the National President, Mr. Gideon Oche Onazi, and the Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Kudu, the Tinubu Consensus Network (TCN) said the appointment of Chief Tegbe was “a good step in the right direction”.
The group, a cardinal think-thank forum amongst the national support groups of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said, with Chief Tegbe been empowered as a Minister, the votes of Oyo State would swell for APC across boards.
“He has done it before. He has been doing it when he was just a private person, how much more now that he is going to be a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? The votes from Oyo State will swell double for our dear President and all our APC candidates in Oyo State”, the statement read.
The TCN reminisced the role played by Chief Tegbe in the last general elections, especially during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, where he mobilized party stakeholders in his local government area and other areas financially, to give APC the victory it had, “even in a state controlled by the PDP”.
“Our Coordinator in Oyo State, Alhaji Wasiu Akanbi, has records of the wonderful contributions Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe made towards the success of our party in Oyo State in 2023, and he did send the report.
“In fact, he collapsed his governorship campaign structure of 2019 into the APC Support Group and instructed and mandated all of them to deliver APC allround. We are pleased with the news of his appointment and we can’t thank the President enough, for this great honour done to a man who is loved by the people”, the group added.
On the capability of the nominee, the TCN extolled the capacity of Chief Tegbe, adding that, his scorecard in places he has work, stands him out as an astute technocrat.
“His work in the private sector has been stellar. He has been the lead partner and adviser on several national level development reforms across several industries including: Housing and Infrastructure; Trade and Investment; Financing; Skills Development; Information Technology; Telecommunications; and Social Security.
“Through his career, he has worked to improve his capacity to provide solutions into increasingly diverse areas with formal and informal training courses.
“Chief Tegbe, no doubt, has more than three decades of experience spanning consulting, fiscal policy and institutional reform. He is a former Senior Partner at KPMG, who led advisory services across Africa, working on governance, regulatory frameworks and large-scale transformation projects.
“The man also has engagements with key institutions in Nigeria’s power sector, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company. He is very versatile and can serve Nigeria in any sector”, the statement added.
Until his nomination, Tegbe was a director-general of the Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, where he coordinated development cooperation initiatives and investment engagements between Abuja and Beijing. He also chairs Nigeria’s tax implementation committee, underscoring his role in shaping broader economic policy.
Tegbe’s appointment comes at a critical juncture for Africa’s most populous economy, where persistent electricity shortages continue to weigh on growth, industrial output and investor confidence.
In a significant move set to turnaround Adamawa politics, former governorship candidate and ex-senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani has dumped the ADC for the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC redrawing battle lines ahead of 2027.
Binani walked into the NDC fold in Abuja Friday, greeted by National Leader Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, party chiefs, and a full National Working Committee. It’s her second defection in months — APC to ADC, now ADC to NDC.
“This is not about me,” Binani said, voice firm. “It’s about the people who have stood with me. They are central to my journey.” She pointed to the NDC’s promise of “structured, policy-driven governance” as the pull, vowing to plant the party deep in Adamawa soil and fight for fairness, justice, and real internal democracy.
Dickson didn’t hesitate. He handed her the keys to Adamawa. “Leadership responsibility of the party in Adamawa has been entrusted to her,” he declared, charging her to heal divisions and build a machine strong enough to win.
He cast a wider net too, calling on women and political heavyweights nationwide to see NDC as home. “We are an inclusive platform,” Dickson said, underscoring the party’s pledge to affirmative action for women.
For Binani, the stakes are personal. The APC flagbearer who came within inches of the Adamawa Government House in 2023 is now carrying NDC’s banner. Her arrival instantly gives the young party muscle, structure, and a battle-tested general in one of the North’s fiercest political arenas.
With 2027 already rumbling, Adamawa just got a new power map. And Binani is holding the compass.
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