SocietyGazette.com Society Gazette News
Related Articles
NDC Deputy Publicity Secretary Resigns, Cites Injustice, Exclusion
The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Abdulmumin Abdulsalami, has resigned from the party, citing alleged injustice, exclusion from party affairs and interference by powerful officials.
Abdulsalami announced his resignation in a letter addressed to the National Chairman of the NDC, Senator Moses Cleopas, and transmitted through his former ward chairman in Nagazi Ward, Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
In the letter, titled “Letter of Resignation from the Nigeria Democratic Congress: Withdrawal from All Partisan Commitments to the Party,” Abdulsalami said he was leaving after becoming convinced that his efforts to build the party had increasingly conflicted with the interests of some influential members.
The former party spokesman also said his decision was driven by what he described as repeated experiences of injustice and his desire to protect his peace of mind.
“As a foundation member of the NDC, ditto a critical formative leader in the party, I am compelled to voluntarily take the exit having realised that my sincere and positive contributions to the meteoric rise and success of the party are at odds with the vested interests of a few powerful officers who call the shots,” he wrote.
He added, “More so, this painstaking decision serves my best interest as I prioritise my peace of mind rather than recurrent complaints at the sight of a series of injustices meted out to me.”
Abdulsalami was a prominent figure in the early development of the NDC, having served as the party’s Protem Chairman in Kogi State before rising to the position of Deputy National Publicity Secretary and later Deputy National Director for Labour and Civil Society.
In his resignation letter, he expressed appreciation to the party’s National Leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, for the opportunities he had received, while also acknowledging colleagues, civil society activists and media practitioners who worked with him during the party’s formative period.
Explaining his next political move, Abdulsalami explained that he was returning to private life rather than remain in a political organisation where he felt increasingly excluded.
“I am calling it quits and heading back home to avoid orchestrated melodrama of exclusion from party affairs. I love you all, but I love myself and my mental sanity most,” he said.
He, however, declined to name the party officials he accused of frustrating his efforts.
An NDC insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, described Abdulsalami’s departure as the latest chapter in what the source called a difficult relationship between the former party official and the leadership.
“Abdul’s case is really a sad one. He has survived what I can call a toxic relationship. Despite all his efforts since the start of this NDC, he has never been paid a dime as salary or a working budget,” the source alleged.
The insider further claimed that Abdulsalami had been gradually pushed out of the National Working Committee despite being one of the party’s foundational members.
“Secondly, he was subtly eased out of the National Working Committee despite being a foundational member by high-ranking leaders of the party. His leaving the party, to many of us, is the only choice.
“He has been trying to do that since October. But the national leader of our party, Senator Seriake Dickson, kept urging him to stay back,” the source added.
However, the NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, rejected suggestions that Abdulsalami’s resignation reflected a crisis within the party.
“There is no internal wrangling in the party. The exit of one person is not enough to conclude, especially as we also witness influx of a lot of people into the party every day,” he told The PUNCH.
Abdulsalami’s resignation comes against the backdrop of lingering questions over the control and organisation of the NDC, particularly following the arrival of presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Obi and Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC on May 3, 2026, after leaving the African Democratic Congress.
Before their arrival, the NDC already had an established political structure. The party’s National Chairman, Cleopas Moses, said in June that the party had structures across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory before the two politicians joined.
While acknowledging that their entry strengthened the party, Cleopas maintained that the NDC had existing structures before the arrival of the two prominent politicians.
The issue of structures subsequently became a source of tension between the party and the political movement associated with Obi and Kwankwaso.
The disagreement became more pronounced recently when the NDC clashed with the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, popularly known as the OK Movement, after the group rejected suggestions that its structures should be subsumed under the NDC.
The Director-General of the movement, John Ughulu, insisted that the organisation would retain its national, state, local government and ward structures rather than surrender them to the NDC or any other organisation.
Dickson, however, argued that political movements should complement political parties instead of operating parallel structures or competing with them.
The former Bayelsa State governor also criticised the decision by the OK Movement to establish a presidential campaign council, describing the move as “unheard of” and “nonsensical.”
Ughulu, in response, maintained that the OK Movement was an independent political organisation and not simply a conventional support group.
The latest developments within the wider Obi political camp have also raised questions about the cohesion of the movement ahead of the 2027 elections.
On Wednesday, Yunusa Tanko, Obi’s former Political Adviser for Northern Nigeria and immediate past National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, was unveiled as the National Coordinator of the Social Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council.
Tanko’s appointment came less than two weeks after he resigned as Obi’s political adviser. He had announced his departure from Obi’s political team on October 30, 2026, saying he was returning to the National Consultative Front, where he serves as co-chairman.
He later confirmed that he had formally resigned his appointment with Obi before accepting the SDP role.
Tanko was one of the prominent figures in Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign and played a major role in mobilising supporters under the Obidient Movement.
His departure from Obi’s political team, although not from the NDC, followed the earlier exit of another prominent Obi loyalist, Nana Kazaure, who subsequently joined the campaign team of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
With the 2027 general elections drawing closer, the developments are likely to put renewed focus on the NDC’s internal structure, the relationship between its established political machinery and the newer movements around Obi and Kwankwaso, as well as the party’s ability to maintain cohesion while expanding its electoral base.
