Former Bayelsa State Governor and National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, has accused political leaders who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) of handing the ruling party a mandate it did not win at the polls.
Dickson made the allegation in a post on X on Tuesday, November 10, following a reception for the NDC vice-presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, at his country home in Toru-Orua, Bayelsa State.
The event featured the presentation of party flags and certificates of return to NDC candidates contesting various elective positions in the state ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Dickson called on Bayelsa residents to unite and reclaim what he described as their stolen mandate.
“I also reminded our people that they must work together to recover what I described as our stolen mandate, which was donated to the APC. The APC did not win Bayelsa State through the ballot,” he stated.
The former governor insisted that the defection of political officeholders to the APC did not mean the people of Bayelsa had transferred their loyalty to the ruling party.
“Those in government decamped but our people have not,” he declared.
Dickson recalled his political battles against the APC in 2015, 2019 and 2020, claiming that his political camp defeated the party despite its federal influence and financial resources.
He urged NDC supporters to mobilise peacefully for the 2027 elections, warning against attacking political opponents.
He said APC members remained their brothers, sisters and friends despite their political differences.
Dickson also criticised the ruling party’s record in Bayelsa, maintaining that it had made no significant contribution to the state’s development.
He pledged to join NDC candidates in their communities to mobilise support for the party, from the presidential election to the State House of Assembly contests.
The former governor thanked Kwankwaso, traditional rulers, party leaders and supporters who attended the reception, which also featured traditional Ijaw war canoe displays involving four communities.
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