2027: Nigeria is boiling, Tinubu must douse tension now — Turaki

…Accuses APC of using violence, courts to weaken opposition

…Cites declining confidence in INEC, judiciary

…Jerry Gana urges President to act as father of the nation, not partisan politician

By Luminous Jannamike

ABUJA – National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Interim National Working Committee, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN, has urged President Bola Tinubu to urgently address rising political tension and violence ahead of the 2027 general elections, warning that Nigeria could descend into crisis if the situation is allowed to deteriorate.

Turaki said attacks on opposition politicians, intimidation of voters and declining public confidence in electoral institutions were threatening the credibility of the elections, insisting that no political ambition was worth the survival of the country.

He spoke at a press conference in Abuja, where he presented a statement titled, The Country Is Boiling; Can We Reduce the Temperature?

The PDP’s Interim National Working Committee, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of shrinking the political space, encouraging attacks on opposition parties and using the judiciary to undermine political competition.

Drawing parallels with the First and Second Republics, Turaki warned that the suppression of opposition parties and manipulation of electoral processes had contributed to political instability and democratic collapse in Nigeria’s past.

Citing Yiaga Africa’s third National Voting Intentions Survey, released on October 7, 2026, he said 84 per cent of Nigerians were willing to vote, but 61 per cent feared violence could keep them away from polling stations. Only 34 per cent expressed confidence in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while 63 per cent had little or no confidence in the judiciary’s ability to resolve electoral disputes fairly.

The PDP chairman cited alleged attacks on supporters of Peter Obi, the ADC presidential campaign of Atiku Abubakar and activist Omoyele Sowore, including incidents in Delta, Sokoto and Ekiti states. He accused APC-linked operatives of being behind the incidents, while also alleging that opposition parties were being weakened through politically motivated court cases and voter intimidation.

He further accused some public officials of threatening voters with displacement if they failed to support the APC, warning that such actions could undermine Nigerians’ freedom to choose their leaders.

Comparing the political rhetoric of successive presidents, Turaki recalled former President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration ahead of the 2015 election that his ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian.

He contrasted this with former President Muhammadu Buhari’s controversial pre-election warning that the country would be soaked in blood if he was prevented from winning, and Tinubu’s reported remarks that elections were not a tea party and victory must be grabbed, snatched and run with.

He said: “Nigeria is bigger than anybody and the ambition of any individual. We must appreciate that this country must survive for you to become whatever you want to become.

“Whether you want to be a president, you want to be a governor, you want to be a member of National Assembly or an ordinary councillor in your ward, you must have a country first.”

Turaki warned that electoral victory secured through intimidation and violence could become a pyrrhic one if the winner failed to earn the confidence of Nigerians.

“You may win at the end of the day, but it may end up being a pyrrhic victory. You win, but you have not won the soul of the people,” he said.

He called on Tinubu to publicly condemn political violence and ensure the investigation and prosecution of those implicated in attacks on opposition politicians and supporters.

The PDP also demanded that security agencies publish an election security plan, governments stop denying opposition parties access to public campaign facilities, INEC address alleged discrepancies in the voters’ register, and the judiciary dispense justice without executive interference.

Former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, who also addressed the press conference, backed Turaki’s appeal, urging Tinubu to act as President and father of the nation rather than as a partisan politician.

Gana said the President had a responsibility to protect the peace, security and stability of Nigeria, even where doing so might run contrary to his party’s political interests.

He said: “Anything that will bring this nation to peace, you will not be part of it. Even if it will benefit the APC, as father of the nation, you should arise and arrest it.”

Gana added that the PDP was choosing restraint despite its capacity to respond to political provocation, insisting that violence would only hurt the country.

“If you wanted to go and say you want to promote violence and we wanted to answer by violence, it can be done. But we don’t want to do that, because it’s not good for Nigeria. It’s not healthy for Nigeria,” the ex-minister stressed.