The All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticised Governor Seyi Makinde over his comment at the opposition parties’ summit, describing it as capable of undermining national stability.
Opposition political parties in Nigeria, during a summit held in Ibadan on Saturday, resolved to form a united front against what they called attempts to impose a one-party system ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a Sunday statement signed by Felix Morka, the APC National Publicity Secretary, the party said that Governor Makinde invoked the “bloody history” of “Operation Wetie” to incite Nigerians to violence over his “baseless and senseless allegation of the country’s descent into a one-party state.”
APC describes Makinde’s utterances as “reckless and a clear and present threat to peace and national security,” adding that it is particularly disturbing for a sitting Governor who bears constitutional responsibility as the Chief Security Officer of his state to conjure up one of the darkest episodes of political violence in Nigeria’s history to threaten violence against the people and government of Nigeria.
APC said, “By his incitement to violence, Makinde has shown himself to be unworthy of the high office of Governor that he occupies.”
“Makinde’s violent rhetoric cannot be dismissed as mere opposition posturing. His statement risks fueling anarchy, murderous rage and widespread lawlessness capable of undermining national stability. We therefore call on all relevant security and intelligence agencies to take this unfortunate development seriously and act to safeguard lives, property, and defend Nigeria’s democratic order.
“Makinde must be reminded that constitutional immunity from prosecution is not immunity from accountability for threats or acts against national security. No individual, however highly placed, should have the power to threaten or endanger the lives and safety of Nigerians or upend the country’s hard-won democratic governance under the guise of political commentary.”
APC also rejects attempts by “confused opposition leaders to frame their internal shambles in alarmist narratives about so-called one-party domination.”
The party expressed that opposition parties are victims of self-inflicted injuries arising from practices described as “anti-democratic practices, miserably poor leadership, internal contradictions, utter disregard for due process and the rule of law, persistent factionalisation, and the desperate and dissonant presidential ambitions of their leaders.”
APC alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was destroyed by Atiku Abubakar’s “ruthless confiscation” of the PDP’s 2023 presidential ticket in violation of the party’s constitutionally entrenched rotational zoning formula.
APC also alleged that the Labour Party (LP) was effectively subverted by the “restless nomadic disposition” of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, saying he was “permanently swinging from one party to another in search of a free and uncontested presidential ticket.”
APC further expressed that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) coalition platform was “basically stillborn”, strangled by the “reckless robbery” of its party’s leadership by the same “band of marauding opposition figures”.
APC alleged that the ADC coalition was destroyed by the opposition figure’s “never willing to remain and build their parties but always quick to use the revolving door onto the next available party, adding that they have left nothing but desolation in opposition trail.
APC expressed confidence that Nigerians are discerning and will recognise that “a party so grossly unable to manage its own internal affairs cannot be entrusted with the governance of Africa’s most populous and important country.”
The party said, “These opposition leaders and their coalition of confusion have not put anything forward by way of an alternative vision for Nigeria’s development. All they have in their arsenal is fear-mongering built on false narratives about the APC.”
“Our great Party rejects the veiled expectation of opposition leaders that the APC would help them manage their internal affairs.
“We bear no such duty and will not provide any such leadership consulting services to them. And we will not yield to blackmail to abdicate our duty to our Party to plan, organise, and mobilise to compete effectively in the upcoming 2027 general elections.”
“Our democracy is founded on the idea of competing visions of governance and development. Their failure to articulate any alternative vision or policy framework to the visionary and transformative policies of the APC-led administration is on them, and Nigerians are justified in rejecting their gangster antics designed to threaten their way to electoral victory,” the party expressed.
APC noted that, “Nigeria’s democratic space remains as robust as it can be. With nearly two dozen parties registered and participating freely in the country’s electoral process, the opposition’s unjustifiable attacks on our great Party, and their threats of violence are nothing but primitive capitulation, an admission of incompetence, and a peremptory alibi for what is looking to be a fantastic rebuke at the hands of the Nigerian electorate come 2027.”
APC reaffirms its commitment to strengthening democratic institutions, upholding the rule of law, and delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda for the peace, unity, and prosperity of all Nigerians under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
