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Sen. Dickson Unveils 14-Day-Old NDC’s Online Membership Portal, Says it’s On Rescue Mission

Samuel AkpanMarch 16, 20262 Mins read431

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), a freshly registered political entity, has introduced an innovative online system for enrolling members, with the rollout kick-starting on Monday in Abuja.

Speaking at the event covered by Persecondews, Sen. Seriake Dickson, the senator for Bayelsa West and the party’s national leader, said: “The party is the newest party in the country two weeks old, this is the most authentic platform that will salvage Nigerians.”Dickson, who previously served as Bayelsa State’s governor from 2012 to 2020 and won a Senate seat in 2023 under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), highlighted the NDC’s goals noting, “The ruling party since coming into power has taken us from top to bottom, this is a rescue mission and Nigerians are registering in their numbers.”

The digital portal, designed for ease of use, was formally presented by Dickson, who added: “The registration portal was designed to be user friendly, all state executives must mobilise in numbers in ensuring seamless registration in their various wards.”

To accommodate diverse populations, the party offers manual signup options, particularly for those in remote areas lacking technical skills, with Dickson explaining, “Registration can also be done manually to help those in rural area who are not tech savvy.”

The former Bayelsa Governor, who joined the NDC on March 5 during a press briefing where he was given the party’s flag and card number “001” as a founding member, also explained membership transitions.

“The Nigerian constitution has given Nigerians the freedom to associate so it is within your right to resign from your current party and join us.

“Hence why i am against the criminalization of double registration as proposed by the house of assembly,” he told reporters.

Persecondnews recalls that in February the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, presented the certificate of registration to the NDC, one of the two political parties the Commission recently registered.

Protem National National Legal Adviser of NDC, Mr. Reuben Egwuaba, a lawyer who received the certificate on behalf of the party, said with the presentation, NDC has joined the registered political parties in the contention for provision of democratic leadership and contest for power in ways that would make Nigerians at home and the diaspora proud.

He said: “NDC was among the original 171 political organisations that applied for registration as political parties. After meeting all the requirements requested by INEC, NDC was denied registration by INEC at the last minute.

“The reason the then INEC leadership gave for refusing to register NDC was that its logo and insignia bore a close semblance to those of the All Progressives Congress, APC, a claim that was clearly untrue.

“But the Commission stuck to this position, so much so that when the list of the last 14 associations that were to be considered for the final stage of the screening process was published by INEC, NDC was conspicuously excluded.

“NDC subsequently went to court to challenge the grounds for INEC’s decision, which NDC said was not only based on wrong assumptions, but also amounted to an improper use of executive discretion on the part of INEC.”