Veteran journalist and former presidential aide, Reuben Abati, has warned that the growing membership of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, must not turn the party into what he described as an “IDP camp” for displaced politicians.
This is even as Abati disclosed that the party’s membership has risen sharply, growing from about 9.4 million to over 10 million within a short period.
He made the remarks on Tuesday during the Morning Show programme on Arise Television, following the recent entry of Mr Peter Obi and Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso into the party.
According to him, the development has significantly boosted the NDC’s profile and appeal, positioning it as a potential major opposition force ahead of the 2027 elections.
Abati, however, cautioned that the influx of politicians into the party should not undermine its structure and ideological clarity.
He warned that the party risks becoming a gathering point for “internally displaced politicians” if it fails to define a clear direction and engage meaningfully with Nigerians.
He added that the involvement of Obi and Kwankwaso has brought renewed momentum and influence to the party.
Abati said: “Mr. Peter Obi and Dr Rabiu Kwankwaso joining the NDC has changed the momentum in the Nigerian Democratic Congress, NDC, led by Senator Seriake Dickson.
“Now the NDC has suddenly become the beautiful bride. But what I see in that is that Nigeria is a very interesting country.
“The NDC may even emerge as the major opposition party, but as I was warning at back of Thisday newspaper today, it must not become an IDP camp. That is a camp for internally displaced politicians.
“Yesterday, I said the population, the membership register, has grown to about 9.4 million. As of this morning, it has gone beyond 10 million.
“So all kinds of internally displaced politicians are running to the IDP camp that the NDC is likely to become.
“I saw people saying the party doesn’t have a manifesto. Yes, it has a website where it’s saying, service to the people, rule of law, agriculture, transportation. But these are epigrammatic slogans that every political party will come up with.
“The NDC must engage the people, apart from making sure that it doesn’t become an IDP camp, at the level of ensuring that it has a basic contract with the Nigerian people.
“And I think that the NDC emerging is a wake up call for the for the ruling party, the APC, even if everyone in the APC has made an attempt to just dismiss the party.
“What it means is that the opposition cannot be suppressed in this country. If you close them down in ADC, you try to close them down in the PDP, of course, they will show up somewhere else.
“And our expectation is that the political contestation ahead of the 2027 process would be competitive, and that the people will have the opportunities to choose and to choose wisely, because that is what democracy is all about, and not that they are presented with a fair accompli.
“There will be more interesting episodes ahead, not just this, but I think that both Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso brought a different kind of heft, peace, momentum to the NDC.”
