Former Governor of Bayelsa State and current Senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, has taken a swipe at some of Nigeria’s top political figures, labelling them “professional coalition builders and conspirators” as they gear up for the 2027 general elections.
Speaking at an event marking the 60th birthday of former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Dickson did not mince words as he criticized the political maneuverings of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and Amaechi himself.
He accused them of perpetuating a culture of political conspiracies and alliances that he said have done little to improve the country’s condition.
“When I came in here and climbing up here, I have seen a lot of you. And as my brother El-Rufai earlier said, there are a number of you who are expert conspirators, who know how to assemble coalitions and then take over the government as you did to my party in 2015,” Dickson stated pointedly, referencing the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 elections.
He expressed disappointment in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a party that emerged from the coalition of various opposition forces in 2015, noting that despite high expectations, the nation remains plagued by poverty and insecurity.
“And when you did so, particularly to a clueless government, so-called, now 11 years down the line, we thought that there would have been no weaponisation of poverty and that all the challenges of Nigeria would be gone. But 11 years down the line, here we are, assembled to still bemoan the fate of our country,” he lamented.
Dickson’s remarks came amid visible political regroupings, with Atiku, Amaechi, and El-Rufai reportedly at the center of a new opposition alliance ahead of the 2027 elections.
El-Rufai recently defected from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), further fuelling speculation about a broad-based coalition.
At the same event, Atiku himself appeared to embrace the “conspirator” label.
“The only advice I can give, not being a professional coalition builder and conspirator, as some of you are, is that this time, shine your eyes. As you build a coalition and conspire, shine your eyes,” he warned, making an apparent dig at ongoing alliance talks while highlighting the need for vigilance.
Dickson didn’t limit his criticism to coalition politics alone.
He also took aim at the way state governors prioritize physical infrastructure over pressing social needs.
“It is good for governors to build roads and flyovers but then, you must identify priorities,” he said.
“Security, investing in education, investing in healthcare and showing and demonstrating democratic temper in the way you handle and manage things underline the truth.”
Dickson, who governed Bayelsa from 2012 to 2020 before moving to the Senate under the PDP banner, has remained a vocal critic of the APC’s trajectory since 2015.
His latest comments highlight the lingering rifts between former PDP members and those who defected to build the APC coalition that ended the PDP’s 16-year rule.
Amaechi, a central figure in that historic political realignment, served as Director-General of Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaign and later as a minister in his cabinet.
El-Rufai, meanwhile, was often seen as a key ideologue behind APC’s formation and policy direction.
