Ehiozuwa Agbonayinwa, a senatorial aspirant for Edo South under the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), has voiced strong criticism against the party’s national leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, alleging that Dickson imposes his will on the entire party. Speaking on Arise News on Friday, Agbonayinwa argued that the NDC’s main problem is the concentration of power in Dickson’s hands, which he described as undemocratic.
Agbonayinwa, a former member of the House of Representatives, is among party members frustrated with the leadership’s handling of primary elections. He claims he won the party’s ticket for the senatorial district during the primaries held on May 29 but has been denied the opportunity due to Dickson’s influence. The NDC has yet to officially announce results for Senate, House of Representatives, and state-level primaries, fueling discontent.
During the interview, Agbonayinwa stated, “One man cannot dictate for the whole NDC. You have a national leader, a national chairman, a secretary, and other officials—all wonderful people—but one man cannot decide the future of NDC members.” He emphasized that democracy means allowing the people to choose their representatives. “I won the senatorial seat; there’s no two ways about it. What stops them from announcing the result? The primary was on May 29, and now it’s June 5—what are they hiding?”
Agbonayinwa also criticized Dickson’s alleged plan to impose a female candidate to ensure gender representation, arguing that primary winners deserve their slots. “You can’t just decide that a lady must be a senator after primaries. Those who won should be given the opportunity,” he asserted. He called on the party to uphold democratic principles and release the election results promptly.