…Party accuses Tinubu govt of ‘win-at-all-cost’ strategy, warns of threat to democracy
By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned the freezing of statutory allocations due to local governments in Osun State, describing the action as “political terrorism” and accusing the Federal Government of using state institutions to undermine the state ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.
The opposition party, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration was pursuing a “win-at-all-cost” political strategy capable of undermining democratic governance and national stability.
The ADC said the withholding of funds should not be viewed as an administrative matter or mere legal dispute, but as part of what it described as a broader campaign of political intimidation against the people and government of Osun State.
According to the party, the alleged freezing of local government funds could adversely affect the payment of workers’ salaries, primary healthcare services, education and rural infrastructure, among other essential public services.
The party further alleged that the development was connected to what it described as the continued occupation of local government councils by unelected APC loyalists, arrests of opposition figures, alleged activities of armed political thugs and the use of federal institutions to destabilise the state.
The ADC declared: “Political opponents are not enemy combatants. Opposition-controlled states are not occupied territories. Public institutions do not belong to whichever party temporarily controls the federal government.”
The party accused the Tinubu administration of treating political contests as warfare, warning that such an approach could have serious consequences for democratic engagement.
It said: “We have noted earlier that President Bola Tinubu’s mentality, which regards political contests as warfare, constitutes a serious threat to democratic engagement.”
The ADC also alleged that unelected APC loyalists had occupied local government councils in Osun for more than a year, claiming that federal institutions had failed to enforce constitutional and democratic principles in the state.
The opposition party further alleged that candidates and leaders of the Accord Party had been subjected to arrests and intimidation, while hoodlums allegedly associated with the APC had deployed weapons to terrorise communities and political opponents.
It also raised allegations of possible protection or indulgence by elements within the Nigeria Police, saying that, if established, such conduct would blur the distinction between the impartial authority of the state and partisan political interests.
The ADC said the alleged developments went beyond normal political competition, arguing that they represented a dangerous attempt to undermine constitutional government and democratic stability in Osun State.
“No ruling party should ever confuse electoral competition with military conquest,” the party said.
The ADC consequently demanded the immediate restoration of all statutory allocations due to the local governments in Osun State, an end to what it described as federal intimidation, and the restoration of constitutional order.
The party maintained that the people of Osun State should be allowed to freely determine who governs them through a credible democratic process.
“What the people of Osun deserve is the democratic right to freely choose who governs them. But right now, they have been placed under a siege. This rascality has to stop,” the ADC declared.
