‘Nigeria’s Democracy Has Collapsed’: Obi, Ezekwesili, Sowore, Adebayo Warn of Looming One-Party State

By Jeremy Fregene
Prominent opposition figures and pro-democracy advocates on Monday delivered a grim verdict on Nigeria’s democratic system, declaring that the country was sliding into authoritarianism and warning that the 2027 elections could further imperil the nation unless urgent reforms are undertaken.

The leaders, including Oby Ezekwesili, Peter Obi, Omoyele Sowore and Adewole Adebayo, spoke at a stakeholders’ engagement on the 2027 elections organised by the Movement for Credible Elections in Abuja.

They accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of undermining opposition parties, manipulating democratic institutions and encouraging a drift towards one-party dominance.

Ezekwesili said Nigeria’s democracy had “degraded into a shambles,” citing declining voter participation, weakening institutions and growing public distrust in the electoral process.

“By 2023, when only 23 per cent of registered voters participated in the presidential election, it became clear that our democracy was in serious trouble,” she said.

The former minister warned against increasing intimidation of dissenting voices and alleged political interference in opposition parties, the judiciary and electoral institutions.

Adebayo, presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, accused the government of sponsoring parallel structures within opposition parties to destabilise them ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to him, Nigerians must resist what he described as the concentration of political power around the presidency.

“We have to do for democracy now what Nigerians did to return the military to the barracks in 1999,” he said.

Sowore argued that the political elite had captured democratic institutions, including the courts and electoral system, making genuine political competition increasingly difficult.

“We must fight as if we are seeking independence all over again,” the former African Action Congress presidential candidate declared.

Representatives of Obi and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde also called for urgent electoral reforms, warning that growing voter disenfranchisement and declining confidence in INEC could threaten the credibility of future elections.

Former National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) chairman, Sam Amadi, urged opposition parties to build stronger coalitions rather than fragmenting into multiple camps, arguing that unity would be critical to challenging the political establishment in 2027.