‘No Document Found’ — Onanuga Mocks Seriake Dickson, says NDC has No Accessible Manifesto

Bayo Onanuga, senior special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has taunted Seriake Dickson, former governor of Bayelsa, saying his party, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has no plans for Nigeria.

In a statement issued on Friday, Onanuga described the NDC as “a camp for the politically displaced and desperate”.

Onanuga’s comment comes amid growing momentum around the NDC since Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, ex-governor of Kano, recently joined the party from the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

The presidential aide added that the NDC is not different from the ADC, arguing that the party lacks a distinct vision for the governance of Nigeria.

“Like ADC, the NDC has no plan for Nigeria yet,” Onanuga said.

Onanuga said that out of sheer curiosity, he has twice in the last few days searched the NDC website to find out whether it has “a markedly different vision for the governance of Nigeria,” one better than President Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.

Onanuga said he was, however, disappointed, noting that although the site invited visitors to click on the party’s manifesto to read it, the result was negative.

“‘No document found’ was the response I got each time I tried to download the manifesto,” Tinubu’s aide said.

He expressed dismay that “the party whose national leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, said would wage an ideological battle in the 2027 poll has not uploaded any manifesto since it was court-registered in February.”

He said what the NDC flaunts on its website are six policy nuggets that are characterised as pillars.

Onanuga said the nuggets do not read like pillars, but “sound more like the platitudes the party’s newest catch, Peter Obi, has bombarded the nation with in the last six years”.

The presidential spokesperson added that despite the initial disappointment, he still looks forward to NDC’s vision and mission for Nigeria.