Nigeria Sliding Into Full Authoritarian Rule Under Tinubu —APM Campaign

The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of steering Nigeria in direction of full authoritarian rule, alleging that democratic freedoms, institutional accountability and the rule of legislation have been systematically eroded.

The organisation, on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), described Tinubu as a “modern-day Pharaoh”, arguing that his financial insurance policies and alleged intolerance of public struggling have plunged Nigerians into hardship and turned the nation right into a land of bondage.

In a press release on Wednesday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the MDPCO criticised the President’s reference to Egypt, saying it strengthened the notion of his administration as one characterised by oppression, financial deprivation and disrespect for the plight of atypical residents.

It accused Tinubu of refusing to heed Nigerians’ cries over worsening financial circumstances, regardless of having the facility to evaluate insurance policies it described as harsh and punitive.

“President Tinubu’s words strike like the oppressor’s whip. His latest inflexible response to suffering Nigerians, coupled with his ill-considered reference to Egypt, sends a clear message,” the organisation mentioned.

It added, “A leader who relentlessly chastised the people with whips for over three years cannot but resort to scorpions if allowed to continue beyond 2027.”

The marketing campaign organisation alleged that Nigeria was more and more exhibiting authoritarian tendencies, together with restrictions on electoral competitors, freedom of dissent and institutional accountability.

It cited the 2026 Human Rights Foundation Tyranny Tracker as a part of its argument that the nation was experiencing a democratic decline.

The MDPCO additional accused the All Progressives Congress-led authorities of treating Nigeria as a private fiefdom and residents as topics, fairly than individuals whose rights and welfare ought to information public coverage.

According to the organisation, the alleged democratic regression has coincided with worsening financial hardship, rising dwelling prices and rising insecurity throughout the nation.

It mentioned hovering meals costs, transport fares and rents had made survival more and more troublesome for hundreds of thousands of households, whereas declining buying energy, unemployment and insufficient healthcare funding continued to deepen the struggling.

The opposition social gathering additionally expressed concern over experiences of Nigerians scavenging by way of dustbins for meals and struggling for handouts at public occasions, describing the scenario as a troubling reflection of the nation’s financial situation.

On schooling, the MDPCO condemned tuition will increase in federal tertiary establishments, claiming that charges had risen by as a lot as 300 per cent in some circumstances.

It argued that the rising price of schooling was shutting poor college students out of alternatives and forcing many to rely upon loans with none assurance of securing jobs after commencement.

The organisation accused Tinubu’s administration of betraying the academic legacy of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whom the President has recognized as a political affect, by presiding over what it described as an exclusionary schooling system.

It contrasted the present scenario with Awolowo’s free schooling coverage, arguing that college students from deprived backgrounds had been more and more being burdened with the price of buying schooling.

The MDPCO additionally accused the Federal Government of failing in its main duty of defending lives and property, citing persistent assaults by bandits, terrorists and kidnappers on communities, faculties, locations of worship and highways.

It mentioned the safety scenario had additional undermined public confidence within the authorities and intensified the sense of uncertainty confronting Nigerians.

Turning to the 2027 presidential election, the organisation insisted that Tinubu couldn’t lead Nigerians out of hardship, utilizing the biblical account of Pharaoh and the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt to border its opposition to the President’s re-election bid.

“Nigerians are too famished to gird their loins for a journey that leads to nowhere. They know that his ‘promised land’ is a wilderness of hunger, hardship, hopelessness and uncertainty,” it mentioned.

“Of course, Pharaoh cannot lead anyone to the Promised Land.”

The organisation declared that Nigerians should reject what it termed the APC’s “Pharaonic” rule and embrace Makinde’s presidential ambition underneath the APM platform.

It mentioned Makinde’s “reset Nigeria” agenda provided an alternate constructed round nationwide renewal, transparency, accountability, improved safety, elevated productiveness and a extra environment friendly public service.

The marketing campaign organisation maintained that the agenda would supply an inclusive framework for rebuilding the financial system and restoring public confidence in governance.

It additional said that greater than 103 million Nigerians had registered to take part within the 2027 normal elections, arguing that the determine mirrored rising public willpower for political change and help for Makinde’s ambition.