Ondo State NDC Chairman, Mr Kennedy Peretei, middle
By Banji Ayoola
The Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, has accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of plotting to foist a one-party rule on the country through the planned parties’ deregistration.
Ondo State chairman of the party, Mr Kennedy Peretei, whose leadership was formally ratified on Monday, at a state congress by 150 delegates from the state’s 18 councils, in Akure, the state capital, spoke at the inauguration of the party’s state’s chapter.
He spoke few hours after a group of concerned Nigerians staged a peaceful protest in Abuja against the suit filed by the Federal Government seeking the deletion of leading opposition parties from INEC register.
To the Ondo NDC state chairman, the plan by the Federal Government was to emasculate opposition, and turn Nigeria into a civilian dictatorship.
In his acceptance speech, Peretei, a former spokesman of the PDP in the state, described the suit as part of a well crafted plot by the President Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress administration to suppress opposition voices.
He said it would be a great disservice to the memory of many Nigerians who paid the supreme price, suffered persecution and long detention, and fled into exile under the Gen Sani Abacha military dictatorship, if the prevailing democratic dispensation, fought for, and attained through a prolonged and bloody pro-democracy struggles that claimed lives of many illustrious patriots,was regimented into a one-party rule.
His words: “Let me tell you, there is a deliberate attempt to strangulate opposition in this country. But we believe that the political space must be enlarged. That is the reason the NDC is coming on board. We have registered more than 9 million Nigerians in the past few hours to the extent that the website almost collapsed.
“That is why the APC is afraid. They want to strangulate us. But it is not going to work. We are ready for them. This country belongs to all of us and nobody can pocket the entire country. If they attempt it, the pockets of such individuals would tear.”
Describing the reception accorded the NDC in Ondo State by the people as overwhelming, he said there has been a surge in the number of people willing to join the party since the former Labour Party’s Presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi; and his New Nigeria People’s Party counterpart, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, joined the party.
Dismissing suggestions that the numbers were exaggerated or digitally manipulated, he said the registration figures are verifiable and not artificially generated, noting that, “Anybody can go to the NDC website and confirm this.”
NDC in Ondo State is an amalgam of factions of the African Democratic Congress (ADC); Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Peoples Redemption Party (PRP); and aggrieved members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Peretei said the NDC is ready to accommodate more aggrieved members of the ruling APC and others who are disenchanted with the way their political parties are being run, just as he would welcome other opposition political parties to give the ruling party the run for its money.
He said the plan for opposition political parties to field a common presidential candidate has not been jettisoned by the defection of Obi and Kwankwaso to the NDC.
His words “Anything can still happen. If opposition political parties met in Ibadan and agreed to field one candidate, the time has not lapsed. It can still work. We don’t close the door against fielding a single presidential candidate.
“NDC has registered about 10 million Nigerians in 48 hours. It is an expression of the frustration going on in the country. People want something different; people want something better than what they are experiencing now, and that is what will translate into votes in 2027.”
Peretei also assured party supporters that the Ondo State chapter would provide robust opposition, noting that consensus among party stakeholders had shaped the congress and strengthened internal unity.
According to him, “We are already a strong opposition. Having concluded this congress peacefully, those in government know there is no trouble in the political arena. They will be held accountable to the people.”
While declaring the results of the congress, the Chairman of the Congress Committee, Emmanuel Alli, said the exercise was conducted in line with directives from the party’s national headquarters and reflected the collective will of members across the state.
Apart from Peretei, who he announced as State Chairman, others voted in by the delegates are:
- Oluwole Akinmuyisan as Deputy Chairman;
- Babatunde Daudu, Secretary;
- Ayodeji Joy, State Woman Leader;
- Samuel Olutosin, Organising Secretary;
- Owolola Adebola, Publicity Secretary;
- Asiwaju Bernard, Vice Chairman (South; and
- Olutubosun Isijola, Vice Chairman (North); among others.
Protest rocks Federal High Court over deregistration of opposition parties
