The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on Nigerians to take advantage of June 12th as Democracy Day to re-energize and fortify their opposition to the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) anti-democratic plans, particularly the scheme to impose a totalitarian One-Party government on the country.
In a statement commemorating 2025 Democracy Day, the PDP called on Nigerians, democratic institutions, organized civil society, development partners, and all other supporters of democracy to stand together and speak out against the suppression of democratic principles, including the rule of law, justice, a free, fair, peaceful, and credible election process, and the right of citizens, especially the right to freely engage in politics and governance in Nigeria.
The party expressed concern about 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 the nation into a fiefdom and personal estate of few individuals in power,” the party said.
Read Also: How the Military Blocked My 1999 Victory – Olu Falae Opens Up on Obasanjo’s Rise
According to the opposition party, the APC-led Presidency has evaded accountability while working with the dishonest, rubber stamp APC leadership in the National Assembly and some compromised high-ranking judicial officials to erode popular sovereignty, supposedly to pave the way for the establishment of a totalitarian regime in our nation.
As demonstrated by the subversion of the electorate’s will in the 2024 Edo State gubernatorial election, the widely denounced overthrow of a democratically elected government, and the imposition of a sole administrator in Rivers State in flagrant violation of the 1999 Constitution, among other constitutional violations, the blatant use of state capture signals a clear and present threat to our democracy.
The fight by Nigerians against an oppressive, autocratic, and lawless system that is fueled by high levels of deceit, impunity, and reckless anti-people inclinations, as seen under the APC administration, is thus symbolized by June 12 Democracy Day. It also reflects Nigerians’ insistence on a government that is answerable to the people, based on the Rule of Law, and upholds democratic values such as freedom, justice, equity, fairness, and credibility, as well as national unity, accountability, and transparency, all of which Chief MKO Abiola personified and sacrificed his life for.
These are the democratic principles that the People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria upheld. Since the arrival of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) posing as the APC, painfully all have eluded the country, the statement stated.
In order to honor Chief Abiola’s memory, the law, and the Nigerian people’s sovereignty, the opposition party encouraged the APC administration to follow the Principle of Separation of Powers.
Additionally, the administration was urged to stop interfering with the National Assembly’s and other democratic institutions’ operations, especially those of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Judiciary, and the Free Press; to pledge to hold credible elections; to be honest and open; and to examine all of its policies that attack poverty.
The National Assembly, the judiciary, and INEC were urged by the PDP to express their constitutional independence and function solely in accordance with the Rule of Law and the public interest in advancing democratic principles.
