Dare Babalola
Former presidential candidate, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has sounded the alarm on Nigeria’s democracy, alleging a coordinated effort by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to cripple opposition politics and impose a one-party civilian dictatorship.
Hashim made this known in a statement issued from Doha, Qatar on Sunday, where he is attending the Covenant Altar of Worship Ministry’s First Worship Convention. He condemned the Abuja Federal High Court ruling that halted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention earlier scheduled for November 15, 2025, in Ibadan.
According to Hashim, the court’s decision is part of a wider strategy to neutralize the PDP and “weaponise the judiciary against multiparty democracy.” He described the plot as a “carefully choreographed plan to paralyse the opposition and entrench authoritarian rule.”
The former presidential candidate also decried reports indicating that former Jigawa State Governor and PDP founding member, Alhaji Sule Lamido, was blocked from purchasing the nomination form to contest for the position of National Chairman. Hashim called this a blatant assault on internal party democracy.
Hashim accused “fifth columnists” within the PDP of collaborating with forces loyal to the APC to frustrate ongoing reform efforts in the party. “It is now clear that both external pressures and internal sabotage are being deployed to stop the rebirth of the PDP as a credible alternative and defender of democratic values,” he asserted.
Despite the setbacks, Hashim vowed that committed party loyalists would not allow opposition politics to be extinguished in Nigeria. “Those celebrating the creeping civilian dictatorship should pause,” he said. “The true soldiers of democracy are still standing. We will resist every attempt to kill opposition and destroy pluralism in this country.”
Hashim disclosed plans to resume high-level consultations with key party stakeholders on his return to Nigeria, with the aim of rallying “genuine leaders and men and women of conscience” to safeguard democratic freedom.
The former presidential candidate called on members to remain resolute, saying, “We call on party members not to despair and not to faint.” Hashim assured that a new day will break for Nigeria’s democracy, saying, “The darkest hour, they say, comes before dawn.”
