A public affairs analyst and activist, Mr Adekunle Adebayo, has sounded an alarm over what he described as an alleged plot to arrest and intimidate leading opposition figures in Nigeria, including former Vice President, Mr Atiku Abubakar, and former Rivers State Governor, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Adebayo warned that the purported plan was part of a broader strategy aimed at weakening opposition politics and entrenching a de facto one-party system in the country.
He alleged that Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi, and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai had been singled out for arrest, noting that other high-profile political figures, including Mr Isa Ali Pantami, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, and Mr Kashim Ibrahim Imam, among others, were also being targeted.
Adebayo further claimed that the alleged move followed earlier arrests and detentions of former Sokoto and Anambra State governors, Mr Aminu Tambuwal and Dr Chris Ngige, as well as a former Attorney General of the Federation, Barr Abubakar Malami.
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He cautioned that any such arrests would constitute grave violations of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), citing threats to personal liberty, freedom of association and expression, equality before the law, and the independence of the judiciary.
“Selective application of law enforcement based on political affiliation is incompatible with constitutional democracy,” Mr Adebayo said.
He called on Nigerians, civil society organisations, and the international community to closely monitor the situation, warning that the country risked drifting into a system where democratic institutions existed only in form, while political power was consolidated through coercion and selective justice.
Fear of one-party system
On Tuesday, Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde, said the current government of Mr Bola Tinubu was pushing Nigeria towards a one-party state.
Speaking at a media parley in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, Mr Makinde said he would not support the idea of backing President Tinubu in 2027, stressing that a one party state was dangerous for democracy.
On whether he will contest the 2027 presidential election, Mr Makinde said he was qualified to do so but noted that his priority was different.
“I hear that a lot about me having a presidential ambition. Let me make this clear, I am qualiied to serve this nation at the highest level. Professionally, I ran a company at a very young age of 29. I did not go to the NNPC. I worked mostly in multinational companies, including Shell and ExxonMobil.
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“I sent engineers to Equitorial Guinea, Ghana, Chad. But we need to first have a party before you begin talking about an election.You need to have a competitive environment. In 1999, our party was just like that until Ogbonnaya Onu sacrificed his presidential ambition for Baba Olu Falae and Shinkafi. As soon as he did that, the environment became competitive.”
He admitted that he and other G-5 Governors supported the President to reallise his presidential ambition in 2023, noting, however, that it was a big mistake that he would never repeat.
On why he fell out with President Tinubu, he said there was an agreement that the President would run the government of national unity after the election, stressing that there had been deviation from that since 2023.
“Do we have the government of national unity now?” he asked, rhetorically. “Now, we are moving towards a one-party state. If we have a one-party state, what happens when you have a bipartisan or multipartisan issue?” he asked.
He also revealed what transpired between him and President Tinubu after the election. “After the election, I asked him what he would give us. He said he was looking for a development economist from Oyo State who would man the Ministry of Budget. I nominated someone. But he appointed someone else from the state and made him Minister of Power.
“When I visited him later, he said he heard I was upset. I told him that if he appointed Adedibu because he was looking for someone to organise his party in Oyo State, he was wrong because the man did not have the capscity to do that. He said he wanted me to do that, but I told him f would not do that.”
Similarly, former Niger State Governor and Chairman of the Former Governors’ Forum, Mr Babangida Aliyu, had earlier raised the alarm over what he described as Nigeria’s dangerous drift towards a one-party state under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking at an interactive session between the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) and the Former Ministers’ Forum, Mr Aliyu expressed deep concern about the shrinking political space, induced defections, and the weakening of opposition institutions.
“We observe with alarm the aggressive maneuvers by the ruling APC to obliterate the opposition. The relentless poaching of opposition figures and the weaponisation of state institutions to intimidate dissenting voices are clear indicators that Nigeria is sliding dangerously into a one-party state,” he said.
