Senior opposition leaders have issued a strong warning to President Bola Tinubu, accusing his administration of presiding over a gradual drift toward a one-party state and using state institutions to intimidate political opponents ahead of the 2027 general election.
In a joint statement, the leaders expressed concern that Nigeria’s anti-corruption and security agencies are increasingly being viewed by the public as instruments of selective justice rather than independent institutions committed to the rule of law.
The statement was jointly signed by former Senate President David Mark; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi; former PDP Deputy National Chairman Chief Bode George; former APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; and Mallam Lawal Batagarawa.
“We are compelled by duty to nation and conscience to alert our compatriots and the international community to the unfortunate and gradual slide of our country into a state where key national institutions are increasingly perceived as tools of political intimidation, selective justice and systematic persecution of opposition leaders,” they said.
According to the opposition figures, there is a deliberate but covert effort to bring all state governments under the control of the ruling party, not through open electoral contests but through pressure allegedly exerted via anti-graft investigations. They said opposition governors and influential political figures are the primary targets of this pressure.
They pointed to the recent wave of defections of opposition governors to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as reinforcing public suspicion that coercion, rather than political conviction or ideology, is behind the realignments.
“More than ever before in our democratic experience, Nigerians have witnessed what many now describe as a covert, undemocratic agenda to ensure that all state governments fall under the control of the President’s party, not through transparent electoral contests, but by intimidating opposition governors via the anti-corruption apparatus,” the statement said.
The leaders warned that the alleged campaign goes beyond sitting governors and extends to key opposition figures involved in coalition talks ahead of the 2027 elections, describing the trend as a serious threat to Nigeria’s democratic future.
They accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of being particularly vulnerable to political manipulation, alleging that cases involving members of the ruling party are often ignored or stalled, while opposition figures face swift investigation and intense public scrutiny.
