2027: Obi, Seriake’s aides clash over threats to NDC’s fortune

A cold war is rocking the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), sparked by  a social media  altercation  between the aides of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi and  the national leader, Seriake Dickson.

The gladiators are Esther Umoh, an aide and official photographer to Obi, and Theo Abu Agada, the party’s director of New Media and Strategic Communications.

Both have been throwing brickbats at each other‘s camp over what Umoh calls the negligence of the party leadership with respect to educating the supporters on its proper logo ahead of the 2027 election.

There are concerns that different versions of the NDC logo are being used or circulated by candidates and supporters, creating uncertainty at the grassroots over the symbol to be used on campaign materials.

Umoh fears that the situation could jeopardise Obi’s chances at the polls.

The party’s symbol is already subject of a legal/registration dispute.

Reports on the party’s registration said INEC had previously stalled on accepting the logo partly because the NDC’s symbol – the raised two-finger victory sign – was considered similar to APC’s broom symbol.

There is also a separate claim by the Peace Movement Party (PMP) concerning the NDC’s symbol, sequel to an earlier application by the PMP involving the victory-sign symbol.

A suit seeking to stop the ruling of the Federal High Court ordering the non-recognized of the NDC as a valid political party, is currently before the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal with the NDC as the appellant.

Umoh in an X post called out the NDC leadership to urgently confirm the  logo officially approved and recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

She argued that the uncertainty could create problems for candidates and supporters during the 2027 elections.

Umoh also urged the leadership to issue a communiqué to all state chapters and relevant stakeholders identifying the approved logo.

Umoh wrote: “Dear @TheoAbuAgada, in your capacity as a communications representative of the party, I respectfully urge you to ensure that @NigeriaNDCHQ addresses the ongoing issue surrounding the party’s logo decisively.

“With barely five months to the elections, there is already significant confusion at the grassroots.

“Candidates and supporters are uncertain about which logo to use on campaign materials, and this lack of clarity could affect the party’s cohesion, visibility and preparedness ahead of the elections.

“You have repeatedly stated that the party’s supreme leader is an experienced politician.

“I therefore believe he fully understands the electoral and political implications of allowing this uncertainty to persist.

“The party needs to issue an official communiqué to all state chapters and relevant stakeholders, clearly stating the party’s approved logo on @inecnigeria, and providing uniform guidance on its use.

“At this critical stage, the party cannot afford avoidable confusion or mixed messaging.

“We are working toward victory, and every decision, including clarity around the party’s identity and campaign materials must reflect that commitment.

“I sincerely hope the delay is not a sign that the party is unprepared or intentionally trying to sabotage our chances at winning. The NDC must act decisively to protect and strengthen its chances at the polls.”

AbuAgada in his response took exception to Umoh’s description of Dickson as the party’s “Supreme Leader.”

He said the description was inappropriate and disrespectful.

AbuAgada said the logo issue had already been brought to the attention of the party’s national leadership.

“Last week, I raised this issue with the National Leadership of the party and efforts are being made to address it,” he said.

“As an employee of the presidential candidate of our great party, the NDC, I find it disrespectful and completely unacceptable to refer to our national leader, my boss as a ‘Supreme Leader’ — a nomenclature that denotes an authoritarian regime, which Distinguished Senator Henry Seriake Dickson is not known for,” AbuAgada said.

He added that Dickson was “a Democrat to the core” and urged Umoh to be “guided” with her choice of words.

The exchange has brought to the fore questions about the extent to which the NDC has succeeded in integrating the political structures and supporters associated with Obi with the party’s original leadership structure.

It has also raised questions about whether the dispute over the logo is purely an administrative matter or a symptom of deeper difficulties in managing the relationship between the established NDC leadership and the political machinery that came with Obi and Kwankwaso.

Apparently not satisfied with AbuAgada’s response to her first statement, Umoh in a follow up X post said: “Case in point @TheoAbuAgada. The governorship candidate of the NDC in Delta State has been putting in the work.

“Delta State is one state that is obidient to the core. He/we have a great chance at winning, but he/we can’t win with the wrong logo. Campaigns kick off on the 19th of this month.”

To this, AbuAgada responded as follows: “Let me make this abundantly clear: anyone who comes for me, I will defend myself and put the person (him, her, they) in their place. I take no prisoners.”

The issue is particularly significant because information relating to NDC candidates has already begun appearing on the INEC portal, heightening the sensitivity around the party’s electoral identity.

The controversy has therefore put pressure on the party leadership to provide a definitive answer on the approved logo and ensure that the same symbol is used across the states.

For a party attempting to establish itself as a major opposition platform ahead of 2027, inconsistencies in its identity could create avoidable confusion among voters, candidates and campaign organisations.

Party sources said Dickson did not find the altercation on social media between the two funny.

He consequently met with Obi and his running mate, Dr. Rabiu Kwankwaso on Thursday to douse the fire.

In an X post soon after the meeting, the former governor on his X handle @iamHSDickson said they had a “high-level consultative meeting to discuss the positive state of affairs of our party and to prepare for the forthcoming campaigns.”

He said: “It was a pleasure to have hosted our presidential candidate, His Excellency Peter Gregory Obi, CON, and his running mate, His Excellency Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, CON, by the grace of God, the next President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at a high-level consultative meeting to discuss the positive state of affairs of our party and to prepare for the forthcoming campaigns, which are expected to commence later this month.

“We call on all members, supporters and stakeholders of our great party to unite, remain steadfast and work together for victory for all candidates of our party. ~HSD”

He had in June held a closed-door meeting with Obi and Kwakwaso to address tensions that had emerged between the NDC’s established structures and supporters of the former Labour Party presidential candidate.

The June disagreement followed complaints by some Obi supporters over their treatment within the new political platform and comments attributed to sections of the NDC leadership.

Dickson subsequently met Obi in Abuja and called on members of the party to stop what he described as “bickering” and “name-calling” and concentrate on the 2027 election.

Efforts to get official reaction from the party had not yielded result at the time of filing this report as calls and messages to the National Publicity Secretary of the NDC, Osa Director, were not returned.

However, a top official of the party, who spoke in confidence because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, explained the controversy surrounding the party’s logo, saying the party’s original logo remains the one legally registered with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The official said the NDC had explored a new logo featuring a blue-and-white background and a digital fingerprint, but the proposed change was subsequently withdrawn by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after a few weeks due to inexplicable reasons.

The source said: “We know that when you have many ideas, things are always coming up. This recent one with the blue or white background and the digital fingerprint was an idea we came up with, and we sent it to INEC to change our logo.

“But there was a little politics around it. They uplifted it for a few months or a few weeks. But when they saw that we were becoming strong, they withdrew it and returned the old logo.”

The source however clarified that legally, the original logo remains the NDC’s recognised symbol because it is the one registered with INEC.

According to him, the decision to withdraw the proposed logo was also influenced by litigation challenging its similarity to another party’s symbol.

The source said: “They said we cannot change our logo less than one year of our registration, and that is neither here nor there because Section 79 of the Electoral Act 2026, which deals with registration of logo, does not specify any timeframe within which a political party can apply to change its logo.

“So when time is not specified you grant in the favour of the requestor. But we don’t want to go into that at the moment.

“What they said is that in the eye of the law, it is the old one that is our logo, because that is the one registered with INEC. The most popular one which is the digital finger is not yet registered but INEC is aware of it.

“However, we would have withdrawn it but we cannot because it has become a subject of litigation in the sense that the unknown party that took us to court that our logo resembles their own is also about the logo.

“If we decide to change it, it would be tantamount to changing the evidence as the case is ongoing.”

The official said the NDC would not allow the controversy to distract it from its political activities, including preparations for its 2027 campaign.

He said the party would begin a voter-education campaign after the ban on campaign is lifted on August 19.

“But the party is not going to wait for them. Once the ban on campaign is lifted, as from August 19, we will decide to embark on an enlightenment campaign and voter education to inform all Nigerians that the old one is our authentic logo as the case may be,” the source said.

State chapters battle crises

Some state chapters of the leading political parties are also battling crises arising from the nomination of candidates for the governorship elections next year.

Among the states are Jigawa State where the ADC is yet to resolve the crisis over the choice of running mate to its governorship candidate, and  Kwara where aggrieved stalwarts of the APC are believed to be ready to enter into a pact with the state PDP led by former governor and ex- Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki.

In Oyo, APC has stepped up efforts to present a united front in the 2027 governorship race. Former Minister Adelabu and Senator representing Oyo North, sources said yesterday, are still bitter over the outcome of the party’s governorship nomination in the state. Efforts to pacify them into supporting the flagbearer, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, have not yielded fruits.

However, some of other aggrieved stalwarts of the party have decided to embrace the party’s candidate.

Details of the peace keeping moves may be unveiled any moment from now, sources said yesterday.

OK Movement warns against division, urges NDC members to close ranks in Enugu

The Obi–Kwankwaso (OK) Movement in Enugu State has called on members and supporters of the NDC to close ranks, remain united and avoid actions capable of creating division within the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The movement made the appeal in a statement issued by its Chief Press Secretary, Ani Ifeanyi Moses, amid concerns over what it described as activities capable of creating confusion and distractions within the party.

The OK Movement urged NDC members to remain focused on the broader political objectives of the movement and resist attempts to create parallel structures, competing claims of leadership or misinformation that could weaken the party’s cohesion.

It stressed that unity remained essential to the success of the political project ahead of the 2027 elections, particularly in Enugu State, which it described as a strong support base for former Anambra State Governor and 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The movement said political differences should be resolved through established internal mechanisms and lawful processes rather than through public confrontation or actions that could further divide members.

“It is intentional to create division and confusion knowing that Enugu is the support base of Mr. Peter Obi, and we must resist it,” the statement said.

According to the movement, all members have a responsibility to protect the unity of the party and ensure that personal interests do not undermine the collective aspirations of supporters working toward a new political direction for the country.