Opposition parties in Nigeria have sharply criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu following his remarks during his Democracy Day address, in which he expressed satisfaction over the internal crises plaguing several political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking before a joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja, President Tinubu had stated, “Political parties fearful of members leaving may be better served by examining their internal processes and affairs rather than fearfully conjuring up demons that do not exist.”
“For me, I would say try your best to put your house in order. I will not help you do so. It is, indeed, a pleasure to witness you in such disarray.”
Tinubu, while acknowledging the influx of defectors into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), defended the party’s openness.
“We would be guilty of political malpractice if we closed the door on those from other parties who now seek to join the APC and I sincerely welcome our party’s newest members from Delta and Akwa Ibom States led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Pastor Umo Eno and other members of this National Assembly,” he said.
The president’s comments sparked an outcry among opposition leaders who described them as anti-democratic and reflective of a deeper plot to weaken political pluralism.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) accused the Tinubu-led administration of deploying state resources to stifle opposition.
The party’s National Chairman, Dr Ralph Okey Nwosu, condemned the president’s statement in a telephone interview with DAILY GAZETTE.
“It’s most unfortunate that one of the persons who fought the military, so badly and then one of the chieftains of NADECO, happened to be in the driver’s seat today and they are spending state resources to muzzle the opposition and then trying to form a one-party fascism that is even more draconian than the military. It’s unfortunate,” Nwosu said.
He added, “We are mindful of all their plots and we are navigating it as patriots. 2027 will show them what the opposition are made of and also the will of the Nigerian people.”
Nwosu said opposition forces were already strengthening alliances.
“The coalition is so strong. I have had meetings with all the critical stakeholders in this coalition, and their preoccupation for now is to build a party that Nigerian people will own as their own party and to begin the journey to a truly new Nigeria, as the patriots who worked hard to see the military off.
“We, the leaders of ADC are handing over the party, but let us build a party that has a clear ethical standard. So, whatever they are causing, spending government resources just to cause problems within the opposition, it will not work for them. We have gone beyond that.”
“PDP leaders, a lot of APC leaders, Labour Party leaders and many other patriots, we have gone beyond that and time will tell,” he said.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) also reacted, warning that the president would be shocked by the outcome of the 2027 elections.
Ibrahim Abdullahi, the PDP’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, told DAILY GAZETTE, “After this convention that is coming, the PDP will stabilise. A year before the election, APC will realise what they have done to themselves.”
He added, “If Nigerians are the ones that truly vote in a democracy, then let’s wait and see. When APC is able to have 16 years in power, then it would be in a position to speak.”
“Because between you and I, we know what Nigerians are facing and we know what Nigerians are planning to do in 2027. So there is nothing for us to worry about.”
Former Vice President and PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, accused the Tinubu administration of rolling back the democratic achievements of June 12.
He wrote on social media: “The gains of June 12 were hard-won. But sadly, the democratic promise that blossomed in 1999 is being steadily dismantled before our very eyes.
“Today, Nigeria teeters on the edge of a dangerous precipice, a creeping one-party dictatorship is replacing the democratic order we bled for.
“Those who laid down their lives did not do so for Nigerians to groan under the yoke of authoritarianism and economic suffocation.
“The ruling party and its federal government now govern with the unmistakable intent to dominate, subdue and silence. Their tactics are not subtle.
“Opposition voices are being systematically erased. National institutions, once symbols of unity, are being brazenly renamed in honour of a sitting president, as though the country were a private estate.”
Atiku added, “Institutions have been weaponised. Policies are crafted not to empower the people but to entrench fear, obedience and control.”
“The common Nigerian has been abandoned at the altar of elite comfort. And make no mistake: this is the antithesis of everything June 12 stands for.”
He concluded, “We are again at a historic threshold. Nigeria must choose: the path of democratic renewal or the dark alley of despotism.”
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) also weighed in through its National Publicity Secretary, Araba Segun Aiyenigba.
Describing Tinubu’s remarks as “executive rascality, and ego tripping of the day,” Aiyenigba said, “We are focused on strengthening and strongly positioning our capacity to meet the quest of Nigerians in becoming the credible alternative and the much-looked up to veritable vehicle for national redemption and to make life more meaningful for Nigerians.”
Chief Peter Ameh, National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), echoed similar sentiments.
“President Tinubu’s brazen exultation in the crippling crises tearing apart Nigeria’s opposition parties, while feigning opposition to a one-party state is a grotesque display of hypocrisy that savages the very soul of democracy.
“His insidious remarks not only betray his intimate knowledge of these orchestrated turmoils but also expose his administration’s sinister complicity in engineering them.
“No patriot, let alone a democrat, would revel in the ruthless dismantling of political rivals essential to a vibrant democratic system.”
“Tinubu’s venomous double-speak is a calculated assault on Nigeria’s pluralistic ideals, laying bare a despotic ambition that imperils the nation’s future,” he said.
Ameh added, “By strangling the opposition’s stability, Tinubu is orchestrating a chilling purge of dissent, paving the way for a tyrannical monopoly that suffocates political participation and obliterates accountability.”
