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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the government of President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of damaging Nigeria’s democracy.
Specifically, it accused President Tinubu and APC of attempting to foist a one-party state on Nigerians.
The PDP, in a statement on Thursday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, to mark the June 12 Democracy Day, said the current administration is stifling democratic tenets of justice, the rule of law, free, fair, peaceful credible electoral process and the right of citizens particularly to freely participate in politics and governance in Nigeria.
The PDP, therefore, called on Nigerians to resist such undemocratic tendencies.
“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) calls on Nigerians to use the occasion of the June 12 Democracy Day to re-awaken and strengthen their resistance to the anti-democratic designs of the All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly the plot to foist a despotic One-Party regime in Nigeria.
The PDP urges Nigerians, Institutions of Democracy, Organized Civil Society, Development Partners and indeed all lovers of democracy to unite in speaking out against the stifling of democratic tenets of justice, the Rule of Law, free, fair, peaceful credible electoral process and the right of citizens particularly to freely participate in politics and governance in Nigeria.
The PDP is alarmed by the anti-democratic actions of the APC government which continues to use compromised state apparatus of powers and control to brazenly violate the Constitution, emasculate opposition, defy and abridge the liberty of the citizens to freely elect their leaders, corrupt and manipulate Institutions of Democracy, asphyxiate the media and weaponize poverty, all in the attempt to impose a defeatist mentality on the people and turn our nation into a fiefdom and personal estate of few individuals in power,” the statement read.
The PDP also accused the National Assembly of being a rubber-stamp group of lawmakers in the hands of the executive. Furthermore, it alleged that some judicial officers are colluding with the ruling government to perpetuate a one-party state in Nigeria.
It again condemned the state of emergency declared in Rivers State, lamenting that the gains of democracy the country enjoyed under the PDP have been eroded by the APC leadership.
“More distressing is that the APC-led Presidency has remained unaccountable while colluding with the corrupt, rubber stamp APC leadership in the National Assembly and certain compromised Judicial officers at very high places to undermine the sovereignty of the people ostensibly to clear the path for a totalitarian system in our country.
“The brazen resort to State Capture as exemplified in the subversion of the Will of the people in the 2024 Edo State Governorship election, the widely condemned overthrow of a democratically elected government and imposition of a Sole Administrator in Rivers State in blatant violation of the clear provisions of the 1999 Constitution among other Constitutional infractions signpost a clear and present danger to our democracy.
“June 12 Democracy Day therefore embodies the struggle by Nigerians against an oppressive, despotic and lawless system driven by impunity, high level deception and reckless anti-people tendencies as being witnessed under the APC administration.
It also represents the insistence by Nigerians for a system that is accountable to the people, operates on the Rule of Law and democratic principles of freedom, justice, fairness, equity, credible elections, national cohesion, transparency and accountability in government which Chief MKO Abiola personified and died for.
“These are the democratic values which Nigerians enjoyed under the Peoples Democratic Party. Painfully all have eluded the nation since the coming of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) masquerading as a political party, the APC.
“The PDP therefore demands that the APC administration respects the memory of Chief Abiola, the law and sovereignty of the Nigerian people by adhering to the Principle of Separation of Powers, end the intrusion in the activities of the National Assembly and other Democracy Institutions, particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Judiciary, allow for a free press, commit to credible elections, be truthful, transparent and review all its poverty weaponizing policies.
“Against this backdrop, our Party demands that the National Assembly, the Judiciary and INEC assert their Constitutional Independence and operate only on the basis of the Rule of Law and the collective interest of the people in the promotion of the tenets of democracy, the statement added.
There Is Hope
Despite the negative observations, the PDP said all hope is not lost and there is still hope for the country to be rescued.
“The PDP however congratulates Nigerians on this year’s Democracy Day and urges them not to allow the vicious plot of any individual or group to destroy their confidence in Democracy but remain law-abiding and continue to rally with the PDP as we reposition ahead of the 2027 elections to rescue our nation from the stranglehold of the APC,” the statement concluded.
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