ADC Campaign: Tinubu Will Lose Election Despite Intimidation, Judicial Manipulation

* Accuses govt of using security agencies against opposition, alleges growing attacks on parties, calls for international scrutiny

*Gana, Turaki-led PDP caution on reminisce of 1983, say country is boiling

Chuks Okocha in Abuja 

African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has declared that President Bola Tinubu would lose the 2027 presidential election, insisting that intimidation, violence, and manipulation of democratic institutions cannot prevent his exit from office.

The council also accused the ruling APC of manipulating the judiciary and deploying security agencies against opposition parties in a desperate bid to retain power.

Director of Media and Publicity of ADC-PCC, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the assertions in Abuja, warning that the growing attacks on opposition members and supporters across the country pose a serious threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

Ologbondiyan cited the killing of several members of Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in Delta State, allegedly following an attack on the party’s campaign venue by suspected APC thugs.

He said the incident was part of a disturbing pattern of violence against opposition parties, particularly members of ADC, NDC, and Allied Peoples Movement (APM), in Kaduna, Kogi, Katsina, Kebbi and Sokoto states.

Describing the incidents as an assault on democratic freedoms, the ADC-PCC spokesman said, “This is not politics. This is state-sponsored terror against democracy.”

The council raised concerns over the preparedness and neutrality of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging that the commission’s voter register database has been compromised and APC sympathisers have been deployed to sensitive positions within the electoral body.

It also alleged that security agencies were being used to harass, arrest, and intimidate opposition members across the country.

Ologbondiyan expressed particular concern over the alleged involvement of a serving director of a security agency in the APC Presidential Campaign Council as co-Director of National Security and Intelligence, describing the development as a violation of the law establishing the agency.

According to him, the alleged use of state institutions against political opponents reflect a government more interested in retaining power than submitting itself to a credible electoral contest.

“One thing is now very clear to all Nigerians: Tinubu is not preparing for an election. He is preparing for a coronation,” Ologbondiyan said.

ADC-PCC maintained that the alleged manipulation of judicial processes and electoral institutions would not guarantee Tinubu’s re-election, warning that Nigerians would resist any attempt to impose a president through what it described as compromised judicial decisions or electoral fraud.

It called on Nigerians to remain vigilant and prepare to defend their votes, democratic rights, and constitutional freedoms ahead of the 2027 general election.

The council also urged the international community, civil society organisations, religious leaders, and traditional institutions to pay closer attention to what it described as the deteriorating political and security environment in the country.

It warned that silence in the face of political violence could embolden those undermining democratic institutions.

ADC-PCC equally appealed to security agencies to remain politically neutral, stressing that their allegiance should be to the constitution and the Nigerian people, rather than any political party or individual.

“Those who allow themselves to be used as tools of oppression today will answer for their actions tomorrow,”Ologbondiyan warned.

The council insisted that the 2027 presidential election must be allowed to reflect the genuine will of Nigerians, declaring that no amount of intimidation, violence or institutional manipulation would stop the electorate from deciding the country’s political future.

Jerry Gana, Turaki-led PDP Caution on Reminisce of 1983, Say Country is Boiling

National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Taminu Turak,i and former Minister of Information, Professor Jerry Gana, alerted the country to the danger of tension within the political system, stating that political actors should be wary of the implications of the 1983 political episode.

Addressing a press conference on the increasing political tensions and violence, Turaki said, ”A little reminiscence of our political history will help us recall the imminent danger lurking on the road that the current ruling APC leadership is forcing the nation to travel.

He stated, ”In the First Republic, ‘Operation Wetie’ was the inevitable result of the asphyxiation of the opposition and the ruling party’s engineered crisis in the opposition political parties. The crisis continued unabated, and eventually that republic caved in. 

“In the Second Republic, the governing party, refusing to learn from its predecessor and smarting from its hair’s-breadth survival through the judiciary in the 12 2/3 debacle, went all out to decimate the opposition. 

”It deployed orthodox and unorthodox methods to attain what it christened a ‘moonslide victory’, using the power of coercion to enthrone leaders in opposition strongholds. The judiciary was complicit, giving judgements that did not reflect the reality at the polls. Eventually, that republic collapsed.”

Turaki said, ”We have taken the trouble of convoking this press conference, and of drawing on our history as a reference point, because we believe in the veracity of the postulation of the Spanish-American philosopher, George Santayana, that, ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ 

“Today, the governing party, the All Progressives Congress, and the presidency, led by a pseudo-democrat, are speeding down the infamous lane that leads to democratic destruction: the lanes of constriction of the political space, violence against the opposition, the ‘buying’ and co-optation of opposition leaders, and the judicialisation of politics.”

According to the PDP chairman, ”History, both local and foreign, has shown that these lanes lead to only one destination: the death of democracy and the birth of full authoritarian rule, which subjugates the people and destroys the nation.

”The obvious question, then, is, is this what the Tinubu-led administration wants? In the entire political history of our country, never have Nigerians been more uncertain of the processes, institutions and general character of the forthcoming elections. 

“This can be gleaned from Yiaga Africa’s third National Voting Intentions Survey (NVIS 3.0), released on 7 October 2026. While 84 per cent of Nigerians say they are likely or very likely to vote, 61 per cent say fear of violence could keep them away from the polls.” 

Turaki explained, ”Only 34 per cent are confident that INEC will conduct credible elections, down from 45 per cent in the two previous rounds, while a staggering 63 per cent have little or no confidence that the judiciary will resolve electoral disputes fairly, rising to 81 per cent in the South-south.

”The results are damning in all critical respects.”

APC-PCC said such studies ought to cause the government to prioritise reducing tension and building confidence in voters, especially considering that less than 28 per cent of registered voters turned out at the last presidential election. 

Ologbondiyan stated, ”Viewed through an objective lens, the president won with less than 40 per cent of the votes cast by that less than 28 per cent: about 8.8 million votes out of 93.4 million registered voters. That is a super minority, and a mandate resting on so thin a base carries a serious legitimacy deficit.

“If turnout was that low in 2023, without the anomalies we are witnessing today, we can only imagine how much worse the coming elections will fare.”