By Abubakar Yunusa
Former Bayelsa State governor and senator, Seriake Dickson, has accused top leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of destroying one of Nigeria’s most iconic political brands through personal ambition and negligence.
Speaking on Tuesday during an appearance on Politics Today, Dickson said it would be more accurate to say the PDP “left us” rather than claim that members abandoned the party.
“It is very sad that, before our very eyes, our trusted and loved platform evaporated — and that is different from leaving,” he said.
Dickson recalled joining the PDP in the mid-2000s after being encouraged by former President Goodluck Jonathan to support his governorship bid. He described the party he knew — which produced presidents such as Olusegun Obasanjo and the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua — as now “killed and buried.”
“That was the PDP Nigerians entrusted with power. That was the PDP that was attractive,” Dickson said.
The lawmaker blamed governors and senior party figures for failing to resolve internal disputes, citing personal ambition and self-interest as key factors in the party’s decline.
“What they have allowed to be done to the PDP is like committing infanticide — a child entrusted to you for care,” he added.
Dickson said leaving the party was a painful decision, but one he had no option but to make after hopes of rescuing the PDP were dashed. “We stayed believing we could still save the PDP because of its historic contributions to Nigeria’s democracy,” he said.
