2027: Tinubu’s govt constructing false narrative to clamp down on opposition leaders — ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has raised an alarm over an alleged plot by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to clamp down on opposition leaders in the country.

Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, Interim National Publicity Secretary of ADC and Opposition Coalition, raised the concern on Wednesday in a statement.

Abdullahi’s alarm was on the heels of a tweet by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, where he alleged a sinister plot to overthrow the Tinubu administration.

The tweet on his X handle read in part: “Just two years after Tinubu began implementing the reforms, the haters of Nigeria’s progress are banding together to overthrow an administration that has been the most focused, most transformative in our history.”

The ADC spokesperson, who described the tweet as reckless and malicious, further noted that it revealed an imminent plot to clamp down on opposition leaders, ahead 2027 general elections.

He warned that “such reckless and unsubstantiated claim signals a broader campaign of intimidation and repression against political opposition leaders by the Tinubu administration.”

The full statement read: “Bayo Onanuga’s tweet is a textbook example of a political dog whistle. The APC-led federal government appears to be constructing a false narrative that is designed to justify a potential clamp down on dissent, and to criminalise legitimate opposition activity under the guise of national security.

“The ADC is not interested in truncating democracy; we are solely committed to saving the nation from the irredeemable incompetence of this government. And the only means available to us is the democratic means. We are not soldiers, we are politicians. We don’t have bullets; we only have the ballots. When the time comes, we will only present our solutions and an alternative vision of the future to the Nigerian people and leave them to make their choice.

“We are left to wonder why the APC government is so jittery that it is so eager to betray its own heritage. APC is the first opposition party to come to power in Nigeria. It is, therefore, a great wonder that the same party now appears to find it strange that there is an opposition at all.

“We, therefore, call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to promptly caution his aides from further baseless but dangerous allegations that have the potential to heat up the system even two years ahead of the next election. This manner of crying wolf when there is none does not make the president look good and only betrays a sense of panic.

“We also call on the Nigerian people to be vigilant and discerning, and to reject the underhanded tactics being deployed to delegitimise the opposition and silence alternative voices. The health of our democracy depends on a free, open, and competitive political environment.

“Finally, we urge the international community, democratic governments all over the world, international observers, and human rights organisations, to closely monitor the unfolding political environment in Nigeria. We call on them to hold the Tinubu administration accountable for any actions that undermine democratic freedoms or violate the political rights of Nigerian citizens.

“The ADC remains committed to building a better Nigeria, through peace, participation, and the power of the people.”

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