Democracy Day: PDP Urges Nigerians To Resist Tinubu’s Plot To Create One-Party State
As Nigeria marks Democracy Day, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has attacked the administration of President Bola Tinubu, accusing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
In a statement issued by the PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the party urged Nigerians to use the occasion of June 12 — which commemorates the annulled 1993 presidential election won by Chief MKO Abiola — to resist what it described as an “anti-democratic design” by the APC.
“The PDP calls on Nigerians to re-awaken and strengthen their resistance to the anti-democratic designs of the APC, particularly the plot to foist a despotic one-party regime in Nigeria,” Ologunagba said.
The opposition party accused the APC-led federal government of undermining democratic institutions, silencing the press, manipulating the judiciary, and suppressing the opposition through state apparatus.
“We are 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,” the statement read.
The PDP further alleged that state institutions such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Judiciary were being compromised to serve narrow partisan interests. It also accused the National Assembly leadership of being a “rubber stamp” to executive overreach.
“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,” Ologunagba stated.
The PDP cited the recent 2024 Edo State Governorship election, which it claims was manipulated, and the political crisis in Rivers State, where a “Sole Administrator” was allegedly imposed in violation of the Constitution, as evidence of creeping authoritarianism.
“The brazen resort to State Capture, as exemplified in the subversion of the will of the people in the 2024 Edo election and the widely condemned overthrow of a democratically elected government in Rivers State, is a clear and present danger to our democracy,” the party warned.
The PDP invoked the symbolism of June 12, a day now recognized as Nigeria’s official Democracy Day, as a reminder of the nation’s struggle against military dictatorship and a celebration of the democratic ideals championed by Chief MKO Abiola, who died fighting for electoral justice.
“June 12 Democracy Day embodies the struggle by Nigerians against an oppressive, despotic and lawless system driven by impunity. It also represents the insistence for a system that is accountable, just and equitable — principles which Chief MKO Abiola personified and died for,” the statement noted.
The PDP called on INEC, the judiciary, and the National Assembly to reclaim their constitutional independence and act solely in the interest of democracy and the Nigerian people.
“We demand 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,” Ologunagba said.
While congratulating Nigerians on the 2025 Democracy Day, the PDP also used the occasion to mobilize support ahead of the 2027 general elections, pledging to “rescue the nation from the stranglehold of the APC.”
“We urge Nigerians not to allow the vicious plot of any individual or group to destroy their confidence in democracy. Remain law-abiding and continue to rally with the PDP as we reposition to rescue our nation in 2027,” the statement concluded.
Democracy Day: PDP Urges Nigerians To Resist Tinubu’s Plot To Create One-Party State is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
