Tinubu govt acting like military regime, fomenting crisis in opposition parties – El-Rufai

• El-Rufai, who spoke on Monday at a national conference in Abuja on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, said there are deliberate plans to destroy opposition parties.

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has raised an alarm over Nigeria’s descent into an autocratic one-party state.

This is even as he stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the president Bola Tinubu government are weakening opposition parties in the country by constantly plotting crisis in them.

El-Rufai, who spoke on Monday at a national conference in Abuja on strengthening democracy in Nigeria, said there are deliberate plans to destroy opposition parties.

El-Rufai also urged opposition parties to unite and form a broad coalition to challenge the ruling party and protect democracy.

“There are internal mercenaries in the PDP, hired and motivated to destroy the party. The Labour Party is also facing similar issues. Peter Obi himself told me, ‘I don’t know what’s happening in the party I contested with.’

“There seems to be a deliberate project to destroy opposition parties,” he alleged.

Citing a poll that revealed 75% of registered voters might abstain from the 2027 elections, El-Rufai warned of an impending crisis.

“This is dangerous. For those of us who lived half our lives under military rule, we know what it is. We don’t want a military rule, but we also don’t want civilians behaving like the military in their babbar riga and suits,” he said.

He appealed to opposition parties to set aside their differences and form a united front to save democracy.

“This is a national emergency, and we must act before history repeats itself,” he said.

He also opined that the constitution’s minimum requirement of a secondary school certificate to vie for public office should not be abrogated for party nominations.

He implored political parties to set higher standards for candidates and delegates.

“You cannot afford to have illiterates, semi-illiterates, and cunning people as your leaders. This is why we end up with the poor leadership we have today,” he said.