There are indications that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may never recover on time from the protracted leadership crisis bedevilling the party ahead of the 2027 general election.

This is even as the party has continued to suffer losses following the outcome of the 2023 general election.

The latest injury on the PDP came after both the governors of Rivers and Osun states, Siminalayi Fubara and Ademola Adeleke, respectively, announced their exit from the party for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and Accord Party.

Fubara announced his defection to the APC on Tuesday at a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt.

The Governor claimed that he did not receive protection from the PDP, leading to his decision to join the ruling party.

“What you all have been waiting for, what you have been asking me— the signal has finally arrived.

“We have the full support; we have the positive nod to leave where we are because we didn’t get any protection to go to where we are going.

“So, we have every reason— because the truth is, let nobody be fooled in this state— we have the people, we have the supporters.

“Our only ‘thank you’ to Mr. President is to support him, and we cannot support the President in isolation; we cannot support the President if we don’t fully identify with him—not backyard support.

“So, we have taken that decision today, since we have gotten the pass. Everyone here who has followed me, who has suffered with me— our decision today, this evening— is that we are moving to the APC,” Fubara said while announcing his defection to APC.

DAILY POST reports that Fubara’s defection comes just four days after the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and 17 other lawmakers left the PDP for the APC.

The lawmakers said their departure from the PDP was because of the ongoing crisis within the party.

On his part, Adeleke announced that he was joining the Accord Party as a new platform to seek re-election in August next year.

The governor made the announcement in a post on his verified X handle on Tuesday, just a few days after resigning from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

According to him, he had joined the Accord Party since 6th November, 2025, as a platform to seek re-election in 2026.

“Stakeholders and residents of Osun State are aware of why we are taking this important decision.

“We intend to pursue a second term in office on the platform of the Accord Party to complete ongoing delivery of good governance and democratic dividends, which have been applauded at home and abroad.

“We opted for the Accord Party because its mission of welfarism aligns with our passionate focus on citizens and workers’ welfare,” Adeleke said.

DAILY POST reports that both governors cut ties with the PDP at a time the ongoing wave of defections by governors, senators and other key politicians from opposition parties to the ruling APC has triggered fears that Africa’s largest democracy may be drifting towards a one-party state.

The development has also fueled growing concern that the ruling party under President Bola Tinubu may face little or no resistance in the 2027 polls.

DAILY POST observed that in recent months, the nation’s political terrain has witnessed a dramatic shift.

Don’t blame us – PDP tells Fubara

Reacting to Governor Fubara’s move to the APC, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, described the development as “self-inflicted,” warning that the development threatens Nigeria’s democratic balance.

In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the party said the move contributes to what it called a growing slide toward a one-party system.

According to the statement, the governor made political choices that led to his departure and should not blame the party or any stakeholder.

“Everyone who has followed the developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the Governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination.

“Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party, or any other person or group, of abandoning or failing to protect him.

“Whilst a person at a crossroad of threats of existential proportion may suffer from temporary amnesia caused by trauma, the Governor should have nothing less than praise for our party, civil society organisations, and all Nigerians who freely stood up in his defence since this crisis started, until he capitulated.

“It is our prayer that the Governor does not suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, where a victim falls in love with their captor. In all, despite these, we pity the Governor and wish him well,” the PDP said.

PDP facing structural breakdown – Analyst

Meanwhile, a Public Affairs Analyst and Communication Scholar at Peaceland University, Enugu, Dr. Nduka Odo, in an interview with DAILY POST, described the recent defections of Governors Siminalayi Fubara and Ademola Adeleke from the PDP as a sign of deeper structural problems within the opposition party.

Odo said the development goes beyond the country’s usual season of defections, noting that Governor Fubara’s move to the APC represents “a strategic repositioning” driven by ongoing political battles in Rivers State, where he has been engaged in a power struggle with entrenched interests.

He explained that Governor Adeleke’s defection to the Accord Party reflects what he called “ideological fatigue” within the PDP, adding that the governor may have chosen the party to escape the internal factionalism that has destabilised the PDP in recent years.

According to him, both defections underscore the party’s “chronic failure” to manage and resolve internal conflicts.

Odo maintained that the PDP’s decline remains reversible if the party undertakes serious reforms.

He said: “What we are witnessing is not merely the usual season of defections but a deeper structural convulsion within the PDP. Fubara’s move to the APC is not an isolated gesture.

“It is a strategic repositioning driven by existential political battles in Rivers State, where the governor has been locked in a survival contest with entrenched power blocs.

“Adeleke’s defection, on the other hand, reflects a more ideological fatigue within the PDP. His choice of Accord Party signals a desire to escape the suffocating factionalism that has crippled the party.

“Both defections highlight a chronic failure of internal conflict resolution within the PDP, and Nigerians should pay attention to that.

“The PDP is not in irreversible decline, but it is certainly in an advanced stage of institutional erosion. Political parties survive on cohesion, trust, and predictable reward systems.

“When governors—who are the party’s biggest electoral assets—begin to exit, it means the internal incentive structure has collapsed.

“Yet, decline is reversible if the party can re-engineer its internal democracy and re-negotiate power with its stakeholders. The question is: does the party still have the discipline and moral capital to do so?”

The Chairman of the Nenadi Usman-led faction of the Labour Party, LP, in Abia State, Emmanuel Otti has accused the factional National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure and his supporters of allegedly violating the April 2025 ruling of the Supreme Court.

He also dismissed the recent congresses conducted by the Abure-led faction as a ‘Kangaroo’ exercise that violated the law.

Otti, who addressed journalists on Monday at the LP State office in Umuahia, said he had last week, secured an order from the Abia State High Court stopping the conduct of the LP Congress nationwide, but expressed dismay that the Abure faction disobeyed the order.

He warned that the action could attract the wrath of the gods.

“Remember that in April this year, there was a Supreme Court judgement and that judgement must be followed to the last.

“So, if you are going contrary to the law of the lands, the gods will hit you. If at all they held any Congress anywhere, it was a Kangaroo exercise”, Otti said.

On the welfare of LP members in Abia, Otti said that Governor Alex Otti did not abandon the LP members as claimed by the members of the opposition party.

He explained that the members of his party who worked for the victory of Governor Otti are well accommodated in the administration and not shut out.

He disclosed that a recent sensitisation and evaluation tour his party carried out in various LGAs of the State confirmed the satisfaction of LP members about the performance of Governor Otti.

The LP Chairman further declared that Governor Otti and the Labour Party would win elections in all parts of Abia in 2027, based on what he called the unprecedented performance of the Governor.

The national chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Dr Ajuji Ahmed, says the party is fully preparing for the 2027 general elections and is not holding any secret discussions with President Bola Tinubu or the Presidency.

According to him, “I can tell you for free that the national leader of the NNPP is not romancing or making any conversation with either the President or with the Presidency and that is a genuine statement, not a political one.”

Dr Ahmed said the battle for Kano in 2027 will be decided by the people, not by joining any political alliance.

He insisted that the NNPP will succeed based on its strength and plans, not by teaming up with the APC.

“I don’t believe that because we want to be successful, we have to join the APC. We believe that joining the APC will guarantee our failure in Kano,” he told the Nation.

He added that the NNPP aims to grow nationwide and position itself as a strong contender for the presidency in 2027.

Ahmed argued that aside from the APC, the NNPP is the only party with a solid nationwide structure across all states and local governments.

He said the party is open to any aspirant who wants to contest its presidential ticket, and that even though Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso is influential, “he is not the deciding factor. The deciding factor is the NWC of the party. And he knows that and he will respect that.”

On whether the APC is responsible for crises in opposition parties, he said he does not believe so.

He explained that parties only face interference when they are already weak internally.

According to him, “whatever party is in crisis, it is in crisis due to its own internal contradictions.”

He said if parties like PDP and Labour Party were united, no outside force could break them into three different pieces or two broad pieces.

Looking ahead, Dr Ahmed said the future looks uncertain for the PDP and Labour Party, while the NNPP prefers to work quietly.

In his words, “We prefer to be silent than to be noisy like PDP because they are noisy for all the wrong reasons. And we are silent for all the right reasons.”

He added that when the NNPP finally unveils its plans, its critics will realise he had already warned them. “You will come here again and say to me, you told me so.”

The All Progressives Congress, APC, National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has declared that the party will win the 2027 presidential election convincingly.

This was as Yilwatda said the APC would win more states in 2027.

He made the declaration while receiving the Women Leaders Support Advancement, a political advocacy group championing increased participation of women in governance in Abuja yesterday.

Yilwatda said his remark was in line with the growing nationwide acceptance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

He said, “Our party is fully prepared for the future, and by the grace of God, the APC will win convincingly in 2027.”

The APC National Chairman insisted that Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda had broadened opportunities for women and young people.

He noted that the policies of Tinubu’s administration are in tune with Nigerians’ demand for more inclusive governance.

Former Osun State governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has dismissed allegations that he influenced the screening process that led to the disqualification of several governorship aspirants ahead of the All Progressives Congress, APC, primary election in the state.

The claims arose after Senator Iyiola Omisore and six other aspirants were barred by the APC Screening Committee on Friday over what the panel described as inconsistencies and gaps in their nomination documents for the December 13 primary.

Those disqualified alongside Omisore include former deputy governor Benedict Alabi; former presidential aide Babajide Omoworare; Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kunle Adegoke; businessman Dotun Babayemi; insurance expert Akin Ogunbiyi; and Babatunde Oralusi.

Omisore, who previously served as APC National Secretary, has rejected the decision, insisting that the committee’s report amounted to “the joke of the year.”

Speaking after appearing before the Screening Appeal Panel in Abuja on Saturday, he accused Oyetola of meddling in the exercise to favour Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji, one of the cleared aspirants.

According to Omisore, the screening chairman admitted that he had come under pressure to disqualify them.

“The chairman of the panel told us that Minister Gboyega Oyetola called him and said they must disqualify all of us because he wants his lackey, his poster boy, Oyebamiji. He told us he was under pressure. Unfortunately, we are in it together,” Omisore alleged.

However, Oyetola’s camp has firmly rejected the accusation. In a statement on Sunday, Dr Bolaji Akinola, Special Adviser on Media to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, described the claims as “baseless, misleading and totally false.”

He said Oyetola had no involvement, direct or indirect, in the actions or decisions of either the Screening Committee or the Screening Appeal Panel, stressing that both bodies operated as “independent organs of the party fully empowered by the APC Constitution.”

“Oyetola did not, and could not have interfered in the screening exercise or in the affairs of the screening bodies,” Akinola said, adding that the former governor has always upheld fairness, transparency and due process throughout his political career.

He urged aggrieved aspirants to utilise the party’s internal mechanisms for complaints and dispute resolution, and appealed for calm among party stakeholders.

Akinola maintained that Oyetola remains committed to the unity of the APC in Osun and to the broader welfare of the state’s residents.

Osun State chapters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Adedamola Adebayo have expressed contrasting interpretations of the Supreme Court ruling on the issue of withheld local government allocations.

This is as each claimed victory while issuing warnings to their supporters and opponents.

These reactions were expressed in separate statements made available to DAILY POST on Saturday in Osogbo.

The Osun APC through its Chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, said the party applauded the Supreme Court’s judgement, describing it as a reinforcement of the July 2024 ruling which affirmed financial autonomy for local government councils in the state.

The party said the verdict again nullified the actions of the alleged illegally elected PDP chairmen and councillors.

The APC, however, criticised the Osun State House of Assembly for passing the Local Government Accounts Administration Bill, 2025, shortly after the judgement was delivered.

It described the move as “unconstitutional and an attempt to undermine the court’s decision.”

The statement read, “The bill is unconstitutional and a failed attempt to scuttle the Supreme Court’s judgment in July 2024 over financial autonomy for the local governments, which was by implication reinforced today in another Supreme Court judgement where the Osun State Government and ‘sit-at-home appointed chairmen and councillors’ lost gallantly.”

The party questioned the speed with which lawmakers passed the bill, alleging that the legislators were “ignited by the fire of legal battle they ignorantly and maliciously initiated.”

It insisted that the rule of law had prevailed with the latest verdict.

The APC which added that the legislation was intended to weaken the authority of local government chairmen and councillors reinstated under its platform stressed that the bill will not stand and urged members of the public to hold the lawmakers accountable.

It warned the Assembly against measures it claimed were designed to mislead residents.

The party also alleged that some individuals were impersonating members of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, describing the act as criminal.

The statement added, “In case the ‘sit-at-home’ purported local government council chairmen do not have an adviser, recourse may be made to knowledgeable people to educate them that their useless suit at the Supreme Court was struck out.”

Meanwhile, the PDP governorship candidate for the 2026 Osun election, Adebayo, also welcomed the ruling but offered a different interpretation of its implications.

Adebayo, who secured 919 votes in the party’s primary held on Tuesday, said the verdict paved the way for PDP-elected chairmen to assume office.

In a statement issued in Osogbo, he urged party members to celebrate the judgement peacefully and cautioned them against any form of lawlessness.

He noted that the party had maintained decorum throughout the legal proceedings and should continue to do so.

Adebayo said, “We received the verdict of the Supreme Court with joy as it eventually affirmed our position all the while. The PDP is the ultimate beneficiary of the sound judgement of the court and, by extension, those elected on the platform of the party should also celebrate this victory.”

He warned political opponents against violence and vowed to use legal means to ensure that PDP-elected council leadership assumed control of the local government areas without disruption.

The governorship candidate commended the discipline displayed by PDP members since the case began, adding that such behaviour would contribute to the development expected from those elected to public office.

“I urge our supporters to remain committed to the party as the next election approached,” he said.

DAILY POST had reported that the Supreme Court on Friday struck out a suit filed by the Osun State Government seeking to compel the Federal Government to release withheld allocations to local governments in the state.

A seven-member panel ruled six to one that the suit lacked legal competence.

Earlier reports indicated that both the PDP and APC-aligned Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON members had claimed victory following the ruling, each welcoming the court’s decision.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Zamfara State has urged Northern Nigeria’s elite and stakeholders to establish a regional security committee to address rising insecurity.

Haliru Andi, the PDP Publicity Secretary in Zamfara, made the call on Friday in Gusau, the state capital.

He proposed that Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State lead the committee, citing his recent position paper on insecurity presented at the Northern Governors’ Forum and Northern Emirs meeting in Kaduna.

Andi said the committee would unite Northern leaders, including governors, traditional rulers, youth and women organizations, and civil society groups, to develop strategies aimed at reducing banditry and other criminal activities.

“Governor Lawal’s experience and policies in tackling insecurity in Zamfara make him suitable to spearhead this initiative,” he said, adding that the committee could chart a new course in the fight against crime in the region.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for apparently starting his 2027 re-election campaign while the country is still under a state of emergency.

The party called it cynically insensitive, stating that it undermines the very purpose of the emergency declaration.

In a statement by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC condemned the President’s distribution of branded vehicles to political agents across Nigeria, noting that ordinary citizens continue to suffer kidnappings and escalating violence.

The party said that by launching his campaign under the name “Renewed Hope Ambassadors,” Tinubu “is acting more like a presidential candidate focused on re-election than a President of a nation under emergency rule, with worsening security crises engulfing the country.”

ADC also accused the President of violating the Electoral Act and the INEC timetable.

The statement said: “The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is deeply appalled by reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has distributed fleets of Hilux trucks, Land Cruisers, and Hummer buses to political agents across the country, thereby effectively kick-starting his 2027 re-election bid.

“Coming at a time when Nigeria remains under a declared state of emergency due to worsening insecurity, this action shows that the President’s declaration was a mere gimmick for headlines and means nothing to a President whose priority is re-election.”

The party expressed surprise over the ‘campaign’ at a time of agony for Nigerians.

“While ordinary citizens are being kidnapped, displaced, and killed, the President is handing out branded vehicles and building a partisan mobilisation structure.”

“Entire communities are under siege, our armed forces are stretched thin, yet the ruling party is preparing for rallies. At a time when children are being kidnapped and countless communities attacked, the President is focused on re-election, seeking to continue presiding over a nation that has become more fractured and dangerous than he found it.”

“We also remind the President that, according to INEC, the official campaign period for the 2027 elections has not yet begun. These actions clearly violate electoral rules, and we expect INEC to act to protect the integrity of the process.”

ADC admonished the President to return to governance or admit that his political ambition now stands in the way of Nigeria’s recovery.

Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 general election, Prince Adewole Adebayo has attributed the current wave of insecurity in Nigeria to what he called “absent-mindedness of Tinubu government”, which he said, had become rudderless.

In this interview with Ihechukwu Sunday, he takes a panoramic views of the current security situation in Nigeria, threat of invasion of the killing of Christians continues by the US president, Donald Trump, the presidential order to cordon off forests, particularly in states where bandits are running riots, the order to with police details from the VIPs and the role of the opposition in the prevailing security threat, among others. Excerpts!

How would you describe the state of Nigeria as at this moment?

Well, it’s still orderless from the point of view of governance, and primary duties of the different tiers of government still lie unattended to, and the dire situation that our people find themselves, or we all find ourselves remains unchanged. There are indications that the government has lost its map, and it’s just waking up every day reacting to any new incident, or the umbrage, whether local or international. There is no rational observer who would say, ah, this is the trajectory of where the Tinubu presidency was headed to.

What is happening in November 2025 was what they planned in November 2024. President Tinubu has lost control of his own government, which he hasn’t had time to put together to start with.

And however much you speak for the government; you cannot say that where they are now in 2025 was where they planned to be when they were planning a year ago or two years ago. They definitely are in the wilderness, and if the captain of the ship cannot find his way to the bridge, and he’s not able to locate where the ship is situated, he cannot determine the direction the ship is going, he has no control over the speed of the sail, the passengers on that ship are entitled to a new captain, or they give up on that ship, and you cannot give up on Nigeria. So, it is easier to say that we have a bad government in a good country than to say we have a bad country, because I know that this country, if well managed, is second to none.

When you say that this government has failed Nigerians, are you not making governance so simplistic; is it that simple? Are you saying that the government is intentionally looking away from the people?

The first enemy of the government is the government. The first enemy of the people is the government. You cannot commit a crime and last one week, one month, if you don’t have government people cooperating with you.

I cannot go now to the bank manager in my bank and say to them that I want to withdraw N6 million. They will not answer me. They will say scam, EFCC, money laundry, whatever.

But people are paying millions of naira in ransom. The people who collect the ransom are not worried about where they are carrying the money to. If you want to try it out, just keep collecting your salary and taking it to cash. When it’s up to N10 million, try to take it to the bank and the bank will tell you all kinds of stories. What I’m letting you know is that President Tinubu, in my own humble view, has lost control of his government and is flailing around.

He needs to put his ass together, organize his government, and make sure that he understands that police cover this country effectively because every local government in Nigeria has a police division. There’s a DPO. In some large or massively populated local governments, you have more than one division of police there.

And are you telling me that in Eruku, in Isapa, and all those places, there’s no division there? Are you saying that if there’s a youth corps member in Eruku criticizing the APC or criticizing the government, they will not go and arrest the person?

This is a government that could capture somebody in Nairobi, Kenya, and bring here for trial and sentence the person. But they cannot capture people who are going around. How do you go and carry hundreds of people? Have you been a nursery school teacher before? To get 35 children to cooperate with inside the class, is it easy? How are you going to carry 35 people and carry them somewhere?

Some people have accused the opposition of exploiting the current misfortune under President Tinubu’s administration just to score political points. Do you think your criticism is actually helping the country right now?

Well, if the president wants to be helped, from what we say, he can pick up enough help. But if you say we are making capital of misfortune, then they are producing too many misfortunes because if you think that the opposition is taking advantage of your misfortune, then you should reduce the amount of misfortune you have. You can’t fail in every aspect, critical, primary, basic and even tertiary. You fail in security, fail in the economy, fail in culture and fail even in sports. So, you fail in everything. And you expect that people are not going to remark on those failures. Are you saying that a community with people running helter-skelter, where even you, people in your administration, don’t feel safe, where even the community you come from doesn’t feel safe, is okay? And the vast resources of Nigeria are located in the northern part of Nigeria.

The entire north is closer to Somalia than it is to what Nigeria used to be. So, you cannot Afghanstanise your own country and expect people to sing your praises. You cannot take every index that you met and make it worse. Unemployment is worse, inflation is worse, security is worse, the international profile of the country is worse. You either don’t have the competence to appoint ambassadors, or you can’t find competent ambassadors to appoint. Either side of the coin is a failure. So, you can’t police the state, you can’t secure the state. You fail. You don’t even have enough mental capacity to explain your failure.

The US President, Donald Trump, recently repeated his description of Nigeria as a disgraced country. Do you believe that is a fair description?

I don’t agree with President Trump of the United States that we’re a disgraced country. But, he’s speaking the language of international diplomacy. When you see the president of a country, you say Nigeria is here. So, what he meant is that the Tinubu administration is a disgraced government.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation suggested that recent surges in attacks may be linked to foreign interests, particularly from America. Does that explanation hold any water for you?

It is like a goalkeeper saying that the attacker or striker from the other side is shooting the ball too fast. That’s an admission of failure. Your job is to catch the ball. So, whether the attack is coming from within or from without, your responsibility is to stop the attacks. And every tool in the world that you need to stop the attack is given to you, and on every occasion, at every opportunity, at every juncture, you fail to use these tools for what they are meant to be used for. Nigeria has enough money, enough manpower and enough institutional experience in the military, enough association of friendships all over the world, enough technological and scientific and other skills within Nigeria to defend this beautiful country.

You don’t believe there is any explanation that makes sense as to why Nigeria is struggling with the scale of insecurity that we are dealing with right now?

The explanation that makes sense is that we have a failed government; that’s it. There’s no other way because the kind of challenge or challenges that we are facing is one-tenth or one percent of what Ukraine is facing, or what other countries are facing, including what America itself is constantly facing.

Are you saying that Ukraine has the kind of support that Nigeria doesn’t have; I mean the support of Europe and the US?

Where Ukraine is today, where it will be tomorrow and where it was yesterday is a reflection of the kind of leadership it has at every point in time. If you had a leadership that is more serious than the one you have now, even the war would not happen. And if you have one that is not as strong as you have now, they would have fallen long ago. Let us understand something clearly; the job of the government of a country is to secure that country, and you need resources to do so. And when those resources are available to you, you have no excuse to give. Why stay on the job when you can’t do it? Some of the reasons they are giving that the job is tough or that it’s unpredictable, are reasons you give when you’re resigning. Those are not reasons you give when you’re on the job.

So, if you bring a security guard to your house, and he says, oh, the gate is too heavy, the intruders are too many, he will tell you he is on his way out and why he can’t do the job. You cannot say that you do not know, or you did not know, in 2023, when you were saying it’s my turn, it’s my turn, that you did not know that it was your turn to fight Boko Haram, your turn to fix the economy, your turn to grow the potentials of the country, your turn to represent the country internationally and your turn to make Nigerians happy.

If it’s just your turn to occupy the seat and nothing more, then you’re taking that turn to go away, because the discussions we are having are not surrounding things that are optional. We’re not discussing subsidy, price increase, we’re discussing life or death. We’re discussing the continuity of the country or a fracture.

Do you see the current insecurity as an existential threat to Nigeria?

Of course, it is. Two problems we have. Problem number one, non-state actors have infiltrated the government. The government is absent-minded, absent from duty. Now, it’s also deceiving itself, politically in a way, to elongate its tenure, even though it cannot do the basic function. Those are the problems. The citizens have been coping. They should have been on the street long ago, but I do not recommend that. I recommend that you should be patient, but our people have been overly patient. The disturbance in the country is now causing international concern to the point where world powers are debating whether to take over the whole thing, as if we’re not a growing concern. The manner of their intervention, the angulation of the argumentation, is suggesting that they have a particular section of their population that they feel sympathetic towards, and that is going to create internal alienation in the country.

The presidency announced that the US has reaffirmed its readiness to deepen security cooperation and share intelligence. Isn’t this a positive development and a possible way out of the crisis?

There’s no ending yet. There’s nothing to be happy about yet. There are three problems in these first statements. One, what they say the United States government is willing or ready to do is what they’ve always been ready to do, and they have been doing. Many of the platforms our armed forces are using come from the United States or from the allies of the United States who would ordinarily not give these platforms to us, except the United States agrees. The Super Tucano that was sold to President Buhari during Trump’s first term is a mark of US willingness to cooperate — unlike the Obama days, where Obama was, to my view, unfairly and unreasonably non-cooperative with the government of President Goodluck Jonathan because they were political about it. They had become partisan in Nigerian politics. So, the US under Trump, has always been willing to help, but he’s like trying to carry a child and the child refuses to raise his hands, or you are dragging him and kicking and screaming. The government, until this fire was turned against them, did not take this matter seriously, it was business as usual, and they had gotten comfortable with the business of the commercial aspect of insecurity, the making of money and turning things over, and trading in insecurity and taking that as a status quo.

So, some of the fire-brigade approach that they’re using now has always been available to them. Even if you would not choose ambassadors all over the world, you will choose ambassadors to the United States, to the United Kingdom, to Russia, to China, to France and to be a member of the Security Council of the United Nations. That’s common sense. If you can’t do that, there’s no reason for you to be calling yourself President of Nigeria. So, you may choose not to send an ambassador to Estonia or some other country, but you cannot fail to send ambassadors to Germany, to other places where you have your core business people. In india, for example, you cannot fail to do that. You have to send a high commissioner to India. So, you didn’t do that. Now, you are sending a national security adviser to go and have discussions with people who, as a member of the opposition, as a known politician in Nigeria, when I go to Washington, these same people have discussions with me. I cannot last two, three or four days in Washington or London or anywhere. Once they know I’m around, there will be the ambassador or somebody who will say, oh, you are a leader of a party in Nigeria. We want to talk about your country. So what is special about that?

With your own international contacts, have you and other opposition figures been working behind the scenes to calm tensions or have you simply been watching the Tinubu administration struggle?

We are not bystanders because it’s our country. It’s not Tinubu’s country. Tinubu is a mistake. The country is a reality. Number one, I’ve been to the House of Lords. I’ve been to London. I’ve talked to people there. You can’t say, nobody can say, they don’t have a Nigerian intelligence agency to give them reports. Nobody can say I spoke against the country. I’ve been speaking to Americans for a long time. I’ve never spoken against the country. So, we speak for the country. But, we cannot deny the fact that what is obvious to the people you are talking to, if you don’t want to lose credibility, is that they know you don’t have a proper government at home; a government that behaves like a government. So, they will ask you, what can you do to make things better, because they too, in some areas, want a better partner to deal with at home? I was in London two weeks ago. I was admitted to the House of Lords. I sat with them during their proceedings. We talked about Nigeria.

After that, we had dinner, lunches, where they were raising people to talk about Nigeria, what you think about this? You must have seen my intervention, my opinion in The Independent of the UK. You’ve seen some of my intervention in the media, including the international media. I’ve always been supportive of my country. I’ve always said, do not invade Nigeria. Do not throw bombs into Nigeria. Try as much as possible to cooperate with the government that is in Nigeria. They have shortcomings. They’re not a serious set of people but remember that there’s a longstanding relationship between Nigeria and your country, and you should expand your interaction with members of the civil society, with the opposition, and all of that, and to see that, overall, we’re not treated like a banana republic, even though we have an amateur government in power now. But, we are a regional power in our own right, and I reminded them of the role we played in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Lebanon and Congo and in many places. So, we deserve respect, and they understand that. But they have, during the George Bush administration, unless you abandon your work and start impersonating members of the government, which I’m not, you cannot lay their bed for them. They will scatter it by themselves. They’re not orderly. So, for example, they have a diplomatic problem. They are making it look like a public communication problem. So they are sending argumentative, loquacious people to go on foreign media and annoy everybody. Instead of going to Washington, go to London, go to Paris, go to Moscow, go to Delhi, go to Beijing, and start to talk softly to people, try to know and use relationships with people. Forget about opposition, you can say maybe we’re going to sabotage you along the way. You have people who are neutral in the country. You have experts, you have retired ambassadors, you have a whole institute of international affairs, and I’ve spoken to people there.

There have been some military deployments and rescues in recent weeks and the president has ordered the withdrawal of police personnel from VIP protection duties to the frontlines. What do you make of the government’s response so far?

I don’t have police guarding me. However, what I can let you know is, number one, nothing’s wrong with the armed forces. They have the wrong commander in chief, full stop.
It was the elected commander in chief. Yeah, you can elect the wrong person. You can buy the wrong shoe that doesn’t fit your feet.

So the issue is, you can use someone to buy the wrong shoe and have foot poisoning. The problem facing Nigeria today is that the commander in chief is not a good commander in chief. He can make a good commander in chief out of himself if he wants, but he’s neglecting that mission.

Now I’m happy that he also knows that he doesn’t have to go all over the world on a fashion parade, that he can actually sit at home, go to the situation room, and interact with his security chief. Isn’t that what he’s been doing? I mean, he didn’t go to South Africa, he shelved some of his international engagements to stay back home. We are talking of episodic, reactive actions. We are not talking of systematic work of a commander in chief.

I saw a picture of the president talking with the chief of army staff. As commander in chief, that’s not how I’m going to do it. So he needs to take a cue from previous commanders in chief.

Ibrahim Babangida is quite articulate, talk to him. No matter what your political disagreement with him, he’s got to know how to be a better commander in chief. Because I did all of those things, preparing myself to be a commander in chief. He’s not commanding the armed forces properly; he’s not interacting with them.

The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has expressed renewed confidence in its preparedness for the 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State, with its governorship candidate, Ambassador Dare Bejide, assuring party supporters of certain victory.

Bejide, who received a warm welcome at the party’s secretariat in Ado-Ekiti following his return from Abuja, reaffirmed his commitment to leading the ADC to electoral success.

Addressing a large crowd of enthusiastic supporters, he described the gathering as an opportunity to thank God for how far the party had come, rather than a campaign rally.

He urged members to remain steadfast and not be discouraged by the recent crisis that occurred at the party secretariat, describing the incident as a temporary setback. “This is a positive beginning towards 2026,” he said. “The ticket is in God’s hands—no power comes except from Him.”

The gathering drew notable party figures, including State Chairman Pastor Omolayo, former Commissioner for Information, Akin Omole, Hon. Femi Adegbite, Otunba Emmanuel Fayose, and Hon. Dare Adekolu. They all pledged their support for Bejide’s ambition and reiterated their commitment to strengthening the party ahead of the election.

In his remarks, Pastor Omolayo commended members for showing courage by attending despite the recent tensions. He urged unity and solidarity, describing the ADC as a party built on love and mutual respect.

Barr. Omole acknowledged the unrest that rocked the party in the past weeks, noting that Ambassador Bejide had travelled to Abuja to address critical electoral matters. He praised members for staying committed and encouraged them to intensify their participation in party activities.

Other speakers, including Adegbite, Fayose, and Adekolu emphasized the need for loyalty, cooperation, and unwavering dedication. They assured supporters that the ADC leadership is working to resolve internal issues and reposition the party for victory.

Bejide, while addressing the earlier attack on the party office, described it as politically motivated and confirmed that the matter had been reported to authorities in Abuja. He also highlighted the broader national challenges of insecurity and unemployment, linking them to leadership failures over the years.

He maintained that empowering citizens through skills acquisition and revitalizing the agricultural sector would help address these issues in Ekiti and across Nigeria.

“We have a lot to do, and we are determined to achieve it,” Bejide declared, reaffirming the ADC’s readiness to work tirelessly for the people.

With renewed confidence from its leadership and supporters, the ADC says it is poised to be a major contender as the countdown to the 2026 Ekiti governorship election intensifies.