NDC's Primary Ticket Controversy Pits Peter Obi's Ally Against Party Spokesman

A fresh internal disagreement has surfaced within the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) as Morris Monye, a prominent associate of Peter Obi, and Theo Agada, the party's official spokesperson, engaged in a public dispute. The contention revolves around allegations concerning Monye's purported removal as the party's House of Representatives candidate for Delta State.

The conflict ignited after a series of online posts by Monye over the past weekend. In these posts, he claimed that influential political figures who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) were instrumental in the substitution of his candidacy in the Delta North constituency. Monye asserted on Saturday that news of his replacement began circulating shortly after these defectors joined the NDC, with the official reason being that he had lost the primary election. He further stated that he promptly informed Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, about the situation. According to Monye, Obi expressed concern and advised him against allowing the internal wrangling to overshadow the party's broader presidential aspirations.

Monye recounted, “When news of this substitution started filtering in due to entrants of newly defected APC strongmen in Delta State, I had to run to H.E. Peter Obi late at night to brief him on what was going on. The narrative from the new entrants was that I lost the primaries to justify the substitution. The returning officer wrote a result to favour the said person. I just assumed the right thing was done. After much deliberation on the way forward and fatherly counsel from PO in the presence of Dr. Tanko, Dr. Mo, Mama Pee, Peter Akah, Esther, Ibrahim and others, I decided not to pursue my own election matter any longer out of respect for our Principal, H.E. Peter Obi, and the journey ahead.” He emphasized that he was not desperate for political office, stating, “I am not desperate to answer ‘Honourable’ but I’m desperate to see a Nigeria that works for me, you and all our loved ones. Nigeria must work in my lifetime.”

On Sunday, Monye escalated his allegations, suggesting that the new entrants from the APC were being favoured over long-standing party members. He dismissed claims that these newcomers possessed superior financial resources compared to original 'Obidients,' insisting he had made substantial investments in developing the NDC within his constituency. “I’ve made significant contributions to the NDC on my own volition to ensure the party is great in my constituency. The Delta State NDC Secretary is aware of these contributions. Deacon Ken Pela is aware of these contributions. They are even with receipts. During screening they kept asking me if I was running for Senate because no one else did the things I did. I replied it’s because I want the party of PO to be big in my area. I also donated a secretariat to the party in my constituency. You can’t join the party a few days to the primaries and, because of the reputation of being in APC, say you have a bigger war chest. The whole shenanigans happened because the godfather brought his boys from APC to fill in roles,” he alleged.

Responding on Sunday, NDC spokesperson Theo Agada refuted any involvement of the national leadership in Monye's alleged removal. He maintained that candidate selection decisions are made at the state level. Agada stated, “On Morris Monye – the national leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress has no hand in the removal of his name from the list. Whatever issue he is having, he should take it up with his local leaders at the grassroots level. The national leadership devolved power to local stakeholders, and they are the ones calling the shots. Morris knows the people responsible for his ordeal, but he would not want to call them out for fear of being cancelled. The governorship candidate, who happens to be a core Obidient, Prof. Pat Utomi, and Victor Ochei are the local leaders who decide who gets what. It is what the state leaders submit to the national leadership that is uploaded on the INEC portal.”

Agada also dismissed Monye's insinuation that financial influence was the deciding factor in the primary outcomes. He posed, “Is it because of his war chest that Peter for Nigeria, who won the primary and is flying the party’s flag in Cross River, got the ticket? If the NDC was after money or for moneybags, it could have easily asked the thousands of people who indicated interest in contesting on the party’s platform to buy both the Expression of Interest form and the nomination form, as many other parties did. But the party decided to sell only the Expression of Interest form to aspirants. It is only successful aspirants who won primaries that are paying for the nomination form. No political party did this. Many of you are so loud and ignorant.” Agada further accused critics of propagating false narratives against the party and its national leadership, hinting that the full details of the Delta State controversy had not been publicly disclosed. “Over the past few days, I have seen so many false narratives making the rounds in the media against the party and the national leader. If I were to give a detailed account of what happened, this platform would burn,” he added.

The dispute intensified on Monday when Monye publicly declared Agada as unqualified to serve as the party’s spokesperson, stating on his X handle, “It is unfortunate that Theo Agada does not know his job as Spokesperson for the NDC Party. It’s a truly unfortunate realization for me.”