A former governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, on Tuesday said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has effectively collapsed.
Dickson, who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said the PDP he joined in the mid-2000s no longer exists.
He blamed internal crisis and leadership failure for what he described as the destruction of one of Nigeria’s biggest political platforms.
The PDP that I came to be part of that PDP has since been killed, has since been buried,” he said.
He said the party had lost its identity and no longer represents the platform Nigerians entrusted with power for years.
He noted that the party once produced successive presidents, including Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, but said the current structure had deviated completely.
“Three presidents were elected back-to-back, but what is left now clearly cannot be that same party,” he said.
Dickson said the crisis within the PDP was avoidable if party leaders had embraced compromise.
He said internal disagreements and refusal to concede by key actors worsened the situation.
“People must agree to be reasonable and place the interest of the party and the country above personal ambition,” he added.
He noted that efforts to stabilise the party, including proposals for a caretaker arrangement, were ignored.
“There were chances that we could rescue the party, but those options were not taken,” he said.
The former governor said he remained in the PDP for years, believing it could still be salvaged.
He said the reconciliation efforts he participated in failed despite multiple interventions.
“I have chaired reconciliation committees under different leaderships, so I know the weaknesses and strengths of the party. “It won’t be correct to say that I left PDP. The PDP, unfortunately, has left us,” he said.
He said the party had lost structure and leadership clarity.
On the broader implications, Dickson said the decline of the PDP was a setback for Nigeria’s democracy.
On his next political move, Dickson said he had joined the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), describing it as a growing opposition platform.
Dickson said the party would focus on building its base rather than rushing into coalitions.
