Senator Seriake Dickson has declared that democracy cannot thrive in an atmosphere of blind loyalty and political submission, stating that “there is no place for bootlicking and sycophancy in a true democracy.”

On a day meant to celebrate Nigeria’s hard-won democracy, Dickson delivered a stinging critique of what he described as growing authoritarian tendencies within the current administration —particularly in relation to the situation in Rivers State.

President Bola Tinubu had in separate letters forwarded to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and read at plenary, sought appointments of nominees into Rivers State Electoral Commission, Rivers State Local Government Service Commission and Rivers State Civil Service Commission.

Immediately after the letters were read by Akpabio, Dickson raised a point of order to express his displeasure on the presidential requests but was rebuffed by the Senate President who called on the Senate Leader to move a motion for senators to proceed to the House of Representatives for the joint session with the House of Representatives.

Angered by the development, Dickson immediately after the joint session addressed by Tinubu, stormed the press centre at the Senate wing of the National Assembly to express his anger.

Speaking to journalists after the President’s Democracy Day address at the National Assembly, the senator representing Bayelsa West said he refused to be “a bootlicker or a sycophant,” asserting that true democracy cannot thrive in an environment of suppression and political manipulation.

“There’s no better time than today to speak the truth. You cannot celebrate democracy with one hand while trampling on it with the other. I cannot be a bootlicker. I’m not in politics for contracts or appointments. I’m here because I believe in something bigger than myself,” he said.

The former Bayelsa State governor expressed deep concern over what he called the ongoing “military-style administration” in Rivers State, referencing the controversial appointments communicated by the president to the Senate that morning.

“We all saw it. The Senate President brushed aside my point of order and rushed through the communications. That’s not democracy. That’s dictatorship dressed in legislative robes,” he added.

Dickson warned that the precedent being set in Rivers State could have dangerous implications for democracy nationwide.

“If today it is Rivers, tomorrow it could be Lagos, Kano, or any other state. You can’t declare a state of emergency, sack elected officials, and appoint loyalists to run a state just because you lost political control. That’s not democracy, that’s a coup by another name,” he stressed.

While acknowledging the president’s speech as “flowery and impressive in delivery,” he criticised its silence on the Rivers State crisis. “Not a single word was said about restoring democratic rule in Rivers State. That omission speaks volumes,” Dickson noted.

He recalled the difficult journey to democracy and urged citizens not to lose hope.

“There was a time when people were thrown into detention for simply speaking up. Yet we survived. Nigeria survived.
“We must remain vigilant. Democracy is not built by cowards, bootlickers, or sycophants; it is built by people of courage and conviction.”