The national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, has announced that only aspirants who emerge victorious in the party’s ongoing primary elections for the 2027 general elections will be required to pay nomination fees.
Dickson made the disclosure via a statement shared on his official X handle following a joint session of the party’s National Working Committee, Selection Committee, and Screening Committee.
According to the statement, the resolution was reached after extensive deliberations attended by the NDC National Chairman, Moses Zuwoghe; presidential aspirant Peter Obi; and other high-ranking party stakeholders.
Dickson explained that the unusual measure was adopted due to severe time constraints and an unexpectedly massive surge in the number of aspirants vying for tickets under the NDC platform.
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“Following a briefing at the joint meeting of the Selection Committee and the Screening Committee, and in view of the constraints of time, it was decided that all those who purchased Expression of Interest Forms would be allowed to participate in the primaries in their various constituencies. Only successful candidates will report to the party secretariat for documentation and, in the process, pay for nomination forms and complete other necessary forms,” he said.
The former Bayelsa State governor commended the Screening Committee, led by former Ebonyi State Governor Sam Egwu, for its meticulous handling of the vast pool of aspirants nationwide.
The NDC internal polls are scheduled to take place across the country between May 28 and May 29, 2026. Dickson confirmed that delegations of senior party officials have already been dispatched to various states to oversee the exercise alongside local leaders and stakeholders.
He tasked the committees with ensuring absolute transparency and equity, with a specific emphasis on accommodating competitive women and youth aspirants.
Additionally, he emphasized the party’s zero-tolerance policy for violence, warning that anyone engaging in intimidation, threats, or disruptive behavior would face swift disciplinary measures.
Detailing the voting modalities, Dickson explained that the State House of Assembly primaries would utilize the direct primary method at the constituency level.
Conversely, the primaries and affirmations for the House of Representatives, Senate, governorship, and presidential slots will hold at designated local government headquarters.
He also revealed that an appeal panel would be set up immediately to handle grievances arising from the shadow elections.
The party leader acknowledged that the NDC could not deploy its proposed electronic voting system due to time and logistical limitations, but assured members that manual voting would soon be a thing of the past.
“As I said at the dinner with aspirants, this will be the last primary election in the NDC to be conducted manually. We understand that the manual process may not be perfect due to time constraints and logistical challenges, and we ask everyone to bear with us. Our intentions are sincere, and future primaries will be conducted electronically to minimise complaints and other challenges,” he said.
Prior to this development, the NDC had unveiled its financial guidelines for aspirants, setting the combined cost for Expression of Interest and Nomination forms at ₦60 million for presidential hopefuls and ₦30 million for governorship seekers.
Aspiring Senators are billed ₦8 million, House of Representatives hopefuls ₦6 million, and State House of Assembly contestants ₦2.5 million.
The party added that female aspirants are entitled to a 50 percent discount on nomination fees, while persons living with disabilities will pay 25 percent of the stated amounts.
