Open letter to NDC leadership

Open letter to NDC leadership

Nowhere is the quality of candidates more important that the National Assembly. The legislature is Nigeria's ultimate arena of power where laws, budgets, and resource allocations are fiercely contested. This requires us to strategically use this candidate selection window to field our most formidable, unyielding intellectual heavyweights. The people of this region, particularly the Southeast, can no longer cry of political marginalization when we deliberately cripple our own federal presence by sending weak, silent bench-warmers to the National Assembly. We urgently demand principled champions who will unapologetically defend the interests of the people and fiercely resist the shameful, treacherous post-election defections that routinely betray our people's sacred mandates.

Basic requirements for aspirants ought to include:

a) Candidates selected deserve to have a tested character. It calls for men and women of unblemished integrity.

b) The year 2027 requires candidates who are truly competent and should have, at base, proven achievements in business, academia or public service.

c) Selected candidates ought to possess the desired intellectual depth--individuals who have the capacity and the mental fortitude to consistently examine complex ideas with rigorous analysis, nuance, and critical thinking.

d) This time calls for courage--fearless fighters who will stand firm against oppression or intimidation.

e) The NDC as the main opposition party should present candidates—men and women capable of pulling out maximum votes and who have in place realistic plans to physically defend the votes at the polling units.

f) Our candidates must be popular with the masses and their various communities.

A common saying in Nigeria is that the country’s myriads of crises have deep roots in poor leadership. The next election is the opportunity to get it right. Of course, that journey begins with the quality of candidates presented at the elections.

Unlike in the APC where governors impose their lackeys across the country on the hope of rigging election with their trillion-naira war chest, the ongoing candidate selection process is a golden opportunity for the NDC to make the desired difference by deploying its finest materials.

Sir, with your distinguished leadership team along with the dynamic duo of Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso anchoring the presidential ticket, victory in 2027 general election is assured. But a premium ticket requires premium candidates. In a nutshell, selection of the candidates at this level must go beyond the fleeting exigency of sentimental sympathy or mundane zoning. Now is the time to zero in on candidates who are popular and have the character, compassionate, courage, competence, and the capacity to WIN and lead well.

Yours Faithfully,

SKC Ogbonnia, Ph.D.

An NDC Stakeholder writes from

Ugbo, Awgu LGA, Enugu State.

Cc: All relevant levels of party leadership.