2027: 'Allow opposite breathe' - Makinde tells Tinubu, APC

The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, Seyi Makinde, has called on President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to stop actions capable of weakening opposition parties in Nigeria.

Makinde said the survival of opposition parties was essential to democracy, warning that Nigeria could not afford a political system in which only one party was allowed to thrive.

The Oyo State governor made the remarks during a live interview on Bauchi Radio Corporation, BRC, on Friday, while reacting to a recent Federal High Court judgment involving the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Recall the Federal High Court in Abuja had sacked the Senator David Mark-led leadership of the ADC, declaring its caretaker committee illegal and nullifying actions taken under its authority, including the nomination of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections.

Justice Peter Lifu delivered the judgment on Thursday, ruling that the process through which the Mark-led committee assumed control of the opposition party was unlawful.

The court consequently invalidated decisions taken by the caretaker committee, including the presidential primary election that produced Atiku as the ADC’s flagbearer.

The judgment followed a suit instituted by the party’s former National Deputy Chairman (North-East), Nafiu Bala Gombe, who challenged the legitimacy of the leadership arrangement that brought Mark and his associates into control of the ADC.

Reacting to the development, Makinde, who was in Bauchi for the flag-off of his presidential campaign, described the judgment as unfortunate, expressing concern over what he considered attempts to undermine opposition politics in the country.

He said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC should allow opposition to breathe. What happened to the ADC and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar is rather unfortunate and undemocratic.”

The APM candidate insisted that Nigeria’s democratic system must accommodate competing political interests, adding that the ruling party should not entertain the idea of turning the country into a one-party state.

“There is no way Nigeria can be a one-party state; the APC must get that clear,” Makinde declared.

He argued that opposition parties played an important role in holding government accountable and providing Nigerians with alternative political choices, adding that political competition should not be weakened by developments that threaten the existence of other parties.

Makinde also urged Nigerians not to lose hope in the country despite the economic and security challenges confronting them, expressing optimism that a change of government in 2027 would provide an opportunity for a different approach to governance.