Under the current administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria is steadily slipping into tyranny and chaos, according to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The party voiced great concern over the APC’s plans to build a one-party state in the country in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on Wednesday.
The statement, which was tweeted on the party’s official X handle, blamed a rumored cabal within the Presidency of seeking to undermine critical democratic institutions, specifically the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary.
“The PDP alerts of attempts and actions of a cabal within the Presidency to emasculate the institutions of democracy in Nigeria, especially the Independent National Electoral Commission and the judiciary in the desperation to foist a one-party state on Nigerians,” the statement read.
The party claimed that the unfolding anti-democratic scenario is evident not only in the alleged manipulation of elections but also in conflicting judgments by electoral courts, particularly the Appeal Court, whose verdicts it said are in conflict with the express provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act of 2022, and INEC’s Guidelines and Regulations for elections.
The PDP emphasized the importance of allowing democracy to thrive as the government of the people, as expressed by their will in elections.
It called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the custodian of the government, to speak out and denounce any attempt or action capable of stifling democracy, undermining the rule of law, and compromising the independence of the judiciary, especially concerning election matters pending before the courts.
The PDP called for a united front to defend democracy, the rule of law, and the independence of the judiciary.