Politics
APC Fingers Atiku For Nigeria’s Dysfunctional Opposition Parties
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria’s 2023 election of culpability in the crisis rocking opposition parties in Nigeria.
This was contained in a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka.
The statement was issued under the subject, ATIKU, YOUR POLITICAL DESPERATION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PDP’S CATASTROPHIC DISINTEGRATION.
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It reads, “The former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, like a badly broken record, has continued to point fingers at the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the festering rot in his party, and the spectacular dysfunction of opposition parties generally.
“At the national conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria held in Abuja on Monday, January 27, 2025, Atiku, warned that the nation’s democracy was somewhat imperiled by judicial involvement in electoral matters. Also, without a shred of evidence, Atiku alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was paying certain opposition leaders a whooping 50 Million Naira each to discombobulate opposition parties in the country.
“It was in the Atiku era as Vice President, particularly in 2003 and 2007, that the PDP conducted the worst elections in our political history. We cannot possibly forget how Atiku’s PDP heavy-handedly captured most South-West states and vowed to remain in power for 60 years. It was in those same years that Atiku’s former boss and then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, infamously described election as a “do or die affair” in a desperate attempt to annex Lagos. If democracy was neither derailed nor endangered in those perilous days, is it now that elections are by far freer, fairer and more credible that Nigeria risks losing democracy?
“The judicial branch of government is a constitutional creation like the executive and legislative branches with its constitutionally defined powers to adjudicate disputes among citizens and between citizens and the state. Atiku cannot wish away or seek to abolish enshrined power of the courts to intervene in civil disputes, including electoral disputes, in cases where the authority of the court is validly invoked by a litigant.
“It is a thing of irony that Atiku, who is Nigeria’s most prolific electoral litigator, would make such a ludicrous claim that judicial involvement in electoral matters is a threat to democracy. His criticism of the courts and the electoral process rings hollow given his long history of using the courts to further his political agenda. It’s time for him to take a step back and let the democratic process unfold without his interference.
“Nigeria’s democracy is far stronger than Atiku’s political ambitions. We deserve better than petty politicking and alarmist rhetoric from an elder statesman. As a veteran politician, one would expect Atiku to understand that while democracy may be about winning election, it is, more importantly, about respecting the will of the electorate and working towards the greater good of all. Atiku should focus on rebuilding his party and offering constructive solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.
“Atiku’s allegation that the APC-led administration was paying out 50 Million Naira to some opposition figures is simply bogus and laughable. Atiku knows that his political desperation is responsible for the PDP’s catastrophic disintegration. Peddling rumors and unsubstantiated allegations should be beneath anyone in the standing of an elder statesman, a former Vice President and a serial contestant for the exalted office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The bizarre suggestion by opposition figures like Atiku, Peter Obi, and recently, aggrieved leaders like Mallam Nasir El-Rufai that our great Party may be complicit in the internal corrosion of opposition parties is pitiful, and only an incompetent alibi for their crass failure to manage their own affairs. They cannot govern their parties but tout their ability to govern Africa’s most populous country.
“As discerning citizens, Nigerians know better than to be distracted by the false alarm and hollow allegations of desperate politicians whose only goal is shore up their political relevance in the build up to 2027 general elections.”
The Peoples Democratic Party in Ebonyi State has called on Governor Francis Nwifuru to apologise to residents or resign over his recent comments concerning the 2027 general elections.
The PDP Publicity Secretary in the state, Darlington Peter-Onwe, made the demand during a live radio programme on Friday, describing the governor’s remarks as capable of stoking political violence ahead of the elections.
Peter-Onwe was reacting to Nwifuru’s directive to newly sworn-in local government chairmen to ensure that the All Progressives Congress wins their respective councils in the 2027 elections or risk being removed from office.
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“The Governor should apologise to Ebonyians or resign. He should retract the statement or step down because he has violated the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy,” Peter-Onwe stated.
“Section 14 of the Constitution explicitly provides that the primary responsibility of government is the protection of lives and property. By making such statements, he is now the one insinuating violence.”
The PDP’s reaction followed comments made by Nwifuru during the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected local government chairmen and their deputies in Abakaliki on Tuesday.
While dismissing allegations of harassment and intimidation of political critics by APC members and supporters, the governor warned opposition politicians that they would “see real threats at the right time.”
Nwifuru also charged the council chairmen to ensure that the opposition does not win their respective local government areas in 2027.
“You must not allow the opposition to win in your respective local government councils during the 2027 general elections,” the governor told the chairmen.
“Any chairman who fails to win his council will be removed from office.
“We will use your councillor and remove you.
“If you allow anybody to come to your Local Government council and mess up, deal with that person mercilessly.”
The governor further said he deliberately made the remarks publicly because politicians do not speak in secret.
“I want this information to make the headlines because, as politicians, we do not speak in secret,” he said.
Reacting further, Peter-Onwe compared Nwifuru’s approach with that of Abia State Governor Alex Otti, whom he described as an example of leadership accountability.
“Look at what Governor Alex Otti did when there was a disruption in the education sector. He came out openly and apologised, admitting that it shouldn’t have happened.
That is the true strength of a leader,” he added.
The PDP spokesperson also alleged that the governor’s comments had contributed to hostility against opposition members and media practitioners in the state.
The development comes amid growing political activities and preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
engagement
Lere Olayinka, a media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has challenged the perception that former Anambra State Governor and 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, does not spend money in pursuit of political office.
Olayinka alleged that Obi gave money to delegates while seeking the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 general election.
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He made the allegation during an appearance on AIT’s Democracy Today programme on Friday, while responding to a question on whether politics was a business for Wike.
According to Olayinka, politicians should stop pretending that money does not play a role in Nigerian politics, arguing that candidates routinely spend money during consultations, party primaries and election campaigns.
“One of the issues with most of us Nigerians, we like to pretend, politics is business. Don’t let us pretend. It’s a service but you can only serve when you get to power,” he said.
Olayinka, who said he contested a House of Representatives seat in 2023, noted that spending money was also part of the political process at the primary election stage.
“Why do politicians spend money? Will anybody tell me why politicians in this country, even outside Nigeria, in US, everywhere; don’t they spend money to campaign? They spend money to seek election,” he said.
Speaking specifically about Obi, Olayinka rejected the narrative that the former governor does not give money during political engagements.
“For instance, we have read that the candidate of NDC, Peter Obi, does not spend shishi. It’s a lie,” Olayinka said.
He claimed to have personally witnessed Obi distributing money to delegates when he was still seeking the PDP presidential ticket.
“I was a delegate in Ekiti when he was in PDP before going to Labour Party. He came to Ekiti. He dropped money for delegates. From the money he dropped, they gave me my own in 2022,” he said.
Olayinka, however, acknowledged that the amount Obi allegedly gave may have been smaller than what some other presidential aspirants offered.
“The money might be smaller than what other people gave, but he gave money,” he said.
Obi later left the PDP and contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party.
Ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Obi has moved to the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), while several opposition figures continue to position themselves for another challenge against President Bola Tinubu.
Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign, has warned that Peter Obi may not be able to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election if he contests without a broader opposition alliance.
Okonkwo made the statement during an interview with Ibeju Upgrade Media, amid renewed efforts by opposition figures to form a coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to him, a united opposition front remains the only realistic strategy for defeating Tinubu at the polls.
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He argued that Obi would face difficulties securing enough support in Northern Nigeria if he chooses to contest against Tinubu alone.
“Coalition is the only way out,” Okonkwo said, while referring to Tinubu’s political approach and his previous comments about the nature of political power.
He further dismissed the possibility of Obi defeating Tinubu on his own, even if former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso joins him as running mate.
“So, if Peter Obi goes against Tinubu alone, Tinubu will eat him like biscuits,” Okonkwo said.
He questioned whether Obi would receive sufficient support in Kano, noting that the former Anambra State governor did not secure the state in the 2023 presidential election.
“Will Kano people accept Peter Obi? In 2023, when we had the opportunity, they did not accept him. In 2027, they will not accept him,” he added.
Okonkwo also played down Kwankwaso’s political influence, claiming that the former Kano governor had lost some of his strength, including in his home state.
“Kwankwaso has nothing to contribute to the ticket. Even in Kano, Kwankwaso has lost,” he said.
His comments come as opposition politicians continue discussions over the possibility of forming a coalition ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
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