Democracy: Odinkalu, others warn Tinubu against one-party state

Some prominent Nigerians, including Chidi Odinkalu, Babafemi Ojudu, and Richard Akinnola, have warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against moves towards a one-party state.

In a statement titled “Defending Democracy: A Call to Resist the March Toward a One-Party State in Nigeria,” and made available to newsmen on Sunday, the group expressed alarm at what they described as “a calculated and systematic effort by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dismantle the democratic foundations of our republic.”

They accused the administration of using “bribery, blackmail, and coercion” to weaken opposition parties, claiming that political figures are defecting to the ruling party “not out of conviction, but out of fear and pressure.”

“A democracy without opposition is not a democracy,” the group said, warning that the weaponisation of state institutions for partisan gain “corrodes public trust and undermines the integrity of our democracy.”

The signatories said Nigeria risks “returning to a culture of impunity” where the absence of opposition could lead to “arrogance and unaccountable governance,” and called for the protection of the country’s “multi-party architecture.”

They urged President Tinubu “to respect the democratic path that brought him to power” and to “end the persecution and intimidation of opposition leaders.”

“We did not fight to end military dictatorship only to enthrone civilian authoritarianism,” the statement said. “We must rise now to defend democracy, or risk losing it forever.”

The statement was signed by:Richard Akinnola, Abdul Mahmud, Dr Sam Amadi, Auwa Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), Nnimmo Bassey, Adeola Soetan, Hon. Uche Onyeagucha, Uzodinma Uwaogbe, Mma Odi, Osa Director, Prof Adele Jinadu, Sen Babafemi Ojudu, Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, Chief Tola Adeniyi, Dr Jibrin Ibrahim, and Olufemi Adegbulugbe.