The Peoples Democratic Party has called on Nigerians to stand against what it described as an alleged plot by President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
In a statement marking June 12 Democracy Day, PDP National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba raised concerns over attempts by the Tinubu administration to impose the APC on the country.
June 12 was designated as Nigeria’s official Democracy Day in 2018 by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari to honour Moshood Abiola, widely regarded as the rightful winner of the1993 presidential election.
The 2025 commemoration marks 26 consecutive years of democratic rule in the country.
PDP called on Nigerians, democratic institutions, civil society, and global partners to speak out against the erosion of justice, rule of law, credible elections, and citizens’ right to political participation in Nigeria.
The party said ,”Peoples Democratic Party 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, particularly the plot to foist a despotic One-Party regime in Nigeria.
“The PDP urges Nigerians, Institutions of Democracy, Organised 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.
“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 opposition party warned that suspending elected leaders in Rivers State and appointing a sole administrator, among other violations, poses a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
PDP added, “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.”
Ologunagba also urged the National Assembly, Judiciary, and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to uphold their constitutional independence and act strictly in accordance with the rule of law and the will of the people, in order to protect democratic principles.
The statement read in part, “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 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 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 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.”
