Get Guardian on GoogleFormer Senate President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Adolphus Wabara, has warned that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) should accept responsibility if Nigeria’s democracy suffers a setback, accusing it of benefiting from the systematic weakening of opposition parties.
Wabara, reacting to the recent Court of Appeal judgment in the PDP leadership dispute, expressed strong reservations about the ruling and accused the APC of exploiting protracted crises in opposition parties. He warned that efforts to weaken political alternatives ahead of the 2027 general elections could undermine Nigeria’s democratic foundations.
He described the appellate court’s refusal to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise his faction’s position as a travesty of justice, insisting that the circumstances surrounding the emergence of the Abdulrahman Muhammad-led faction raised serious questions about the state of democracy in Nigeria.
He further warned that accepting the Muhammad-led faction’s position without adequately addressing the issues surrounding its emergence amounted to “standing truth on its head”.
According to Wabara, the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel, declined to overturn the July 17, 2026 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed the suit filed by the Wabara-led BoT faction.
The appellate court reportedly upheld the trial court’s decision to dismiss the suit seeking to validate actions taken on behalf of the PDP by the Tanimu Turaki, SAN-led faction, including the national convention organised by the group, which subsequently announced former President Goodluck Jonathan as its consensus presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
In the lead judgment, reportedly delivered virtually, the appellate court held that the Wabara-led group lacked the locus standi to institute the action on behalf of the PDP. It consequently struck out the party’s name as the eighth appellant, holding that the appeal had become academic and amounted to an abuse of judicial process.
Wabara said he was bewildered by what he described as questionable legal reasoning, questioning how the appellate court arrived at what he considered an inverted interpretation of the issues before it. He cautioned the judiciary against becoming entangled in political disputes in ways that could further erode public confidence in the institution.
The former Senate President said the growing legal battles within opposition parties, particularly the PDP, African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), had raised troubling questions about their ability to participate effectively in the 2027 elections. Accusing the APC of benefiting from the weakening of opposition parties, he urged the judiciary to protect its independence and credibility by ensuring that its decisions did not create the impression of favouring any political interest.
“The opposition should be allowed to breathe. Nigeria cannot afford a situation where formidable opposition parties are weakened to the point that nobody can effectively challenge the ruling party in 2027. “Tinubu should not be made a sole presidential candidate in 2027. That would be anti-democratic and a dangerous precedent capable of bringing avoidable embarrassment to our country.
“Using the courts to make Tinubu the sole presidential candidate in 2027 will not save the APC,” he declared. Recalling that the APC itself benefited from a competitive political environment before taking power in 2015, Wabara challenged the ruling party to demonstrate confidence in its performance by allowing opposition parties to operate freely.
He questioned whether the APC would be in power today if the PDP had used the courts to cripple opposition parties while it was in government, maintaining that democracy thrived on competition rather than the elimination of political rivals.
The former Senate President also expressed concern over the recent court ruling in the leadership crisis rocking the ADC, warning that developments within the three opposition parties could leave Nigeria with a significantly weakened opposition ahead of the next general elections.
“From the look of things, no opposition party is yet free from the ongoing political persecution and grand plot to weaken the opposition ahead of 2027,” he said. Expressing doubts about whether opposition parties would be allowed to provide credible alternatives to the APC in the forthcoming elections, Wabara condemned reported incidents of political violence and attacks against opposition members in different parts of the country.
He challenged the authorities to investigate the incidents and bring those responsible to justice. According to him, the government must demonstrate through concrete action its commitment to protecting the rights of all political parties to campaign, mobilise and canvass for votes without intimidation.
He stressed that Nigeria’s peace, unity and democratic stability must take precedence over the political ambitions of any individual or party. “The peace and unity of Nigeria are bigger than the ambition of any individual or political party. Nobody should be allowed to toy with our democracy,” he warned.
Wabara also predicted a difficult electoral contest for the APC in 2027, insisting that Nigerians would not re-elect a government they believed had subjected them to hardship and economic retrogression. “Nigerians will not be renewing hardship and retrogression in 2027,” he declared. He called on opposition parties to close ranks, overcome internal differences and consider presenting a consensus presidential candidate capable of mounting a formidable challenge to the ruling party.
