Save Nigeria’s Opposition Like You Did To Guinea-Bissau’s, PDP Tells Tinubu

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked President Bola Tinubu to extend the gesture of asylum and protection he gave to the opposition presidential candidate of Guinea-Bissau, Mr. Fernando Dia Da Costa, to the opposition politicians in Nigeria.

PDP stated this while reacting to the asylum given to the Guinea-Bissau’s opposition leader following the recent controversial coup in the country after disputed elections.

The party quoted information credited to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, and his Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Alkasim Abdulkadir, who said the decision was to shield Mr. Da Costa from imminent threats to his life, safeguard the democratic aspirations of the people of Guinea-Bissau, and reinforce Nigeria’s commitment to regional peace, stability, and conflict de-escalation in the sub-region.

However, the PDP national publicity secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said Tinubu should replicate the intervention, which was aimed at preserving peace and democracy in Guinea-Bissau and, by extension, the West African sub-region, back at home.

He said, “This includes checking and curtailing the activities of anti-democratic forces within his cabinet and political machinery, who openly orchestrate, fund, and engineer crises in major opposition parties.

“Although the President is not expected to assist opposition parties, he has a constitutional duty to ensure that Nigeria’s political space remains free, open, and competitive. Presently, this space is being constricted through coercion of elected officials to defect to the ruling party and the sponsorship of crises in opposition parties.

“The philosophical underpinning that catalysed Nigeria’s intervention in Guinea-Bissau should also guide the President’s conduct domestically to safeguard Nigeria’s electoral democracy from decline and prevent the slide toward a one-party state.”

“The President must act promptly in defence of democracy in Nigeria. He cannot present himself as a defender of democracy in the sub-region while enabling anti-democratic practices at home that undermine democratic institutions and processes,” the party said.