The Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) is set to deepen its engagement with Nigerians in the United Kingdom as the party prepares to formally launch its UK chapter with its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

The NDC National Leader, Seriake Dickson, disclosed the plan during a meeting with members of the party’s UK chapter and Nigerian community representatives in London on Saturday.

Dickson, a former Bayelsa State governor, said he would return to the United Kingdom later in the year alongside Obi, Kwankwaso and other senior party leaders for the formal launch of the NDC-UK Chapter.

A statement by the Publicity Secretary, NDC-UK, Boniokoye Imegwu, said the meeting, held at the London Park Lane Hilton Hotel, provided an opportunity for the party’s UK leadership to receive updates on developments within the NDC and its preparations for the 2027 general elections.

Dickson was in London after travelling from the Netherlands, where he had inaugurated the NDC Netherlands Chapter.

Addressing the gathering, the National Leader urged institutions and officials responsible for conducting the 2027 elections to uphold integrity, fairness, responsibility and patriotism.

He also expressed confidence in the leadership of the party and its presidential ticket. The NDC-UK Country Chairman, Princewill Urum, used the occasion to reaffirm the chapter’s commitment to the party, thanking Dickson for his leadership and promising continued support for the NDC’s programmes and objectives.

MEANWHILE, six NDC governorship candidates in the North-East have rejected the appointment of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, as the party’s leader in the region.

The governorship candidates, in a joint statement addressed to the national leadership of the party, said they would not recognise Lawal in the position, describing their decision as “collective, firm and final.”

The candidate, yesterday, said the appointment was made without consultation with them or other key stakeholders who, according to them, had been directly involved in building the party’s structures and mobilising support across their respective states.

“After due consideration, we have unanimously resolved not to recognise Babachir Lawal as the leader of the NDC in the North-East, and we will not recognise him as such,” they stated.

They argued that politics is local and urged the national leadership to consider the views of those directly involved in the party’s activities and electoral mobilisation across the region. The candidates further expressed concern that the appointment could affect the party’s electoral prospects in the North-East, saying they were of the view that the decision would not add electoral value to the party in the region.