Fears of One-Party Dominance Rise as Violent PDP Crisis Threatens Democracy
Fears of One-Party Dominance Rise as Violent PDP Crisis Threatens Democracy Nigeria’s democracy faces mounting threats as violent scenes at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters expose deepening rifts within the opposition. The struggle between Makinde-Bala Mohammed leadership and the Wike-backed faction resulted in the storming of the party secretariat, tear gas confrontations, and journalists injured in Abuja. The Wike faction expelled three governors—Seyi Makinde, Bala Mohammed, and Dauda Lawal—and several senior party leaders, escalating what observers call the largest purge in PDP history. Amid police intervention, Kabiru Turaki and his allies accused “enemies of democracy” of assaulting the party and praised law enforcement for preventing further bloodshed, though the crisis forced meetings to be postponed. Reacting to the incident, opposition parties ADC and MCE warned the ruling APC was destabilizing the opposition and accused the government of abusing state […]