Dare Babalola
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) of fueling political tension in the country, insisting that recent remarks by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde were misinterpreted.
In a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP said the backlash from the ruling party followed the successful hosting of the opposition parties’ national summit in Ibadan on April 25, 2026.
The party said Makinde’s reference to the historical “wetie” crisis was not a call to violence but a cautionary reminder to the Federal Government and political actors about the dangers of suppressing opposition voices.
“The use of history in the way and manner done by Governor Makinde served as a caution and advisory to the Federal Government, the APC, and other national institutions, of the unmitigated crisis that their actions and inactions can result in,” the statement said.
It added that “only a guilty aggressor can interpret it to mean a threat or call to violence,” stressing that lessons from history should guide present political conduct.
The PDP further argued that Makinde’s remarks highlighted the risks of “insatiable political greed and avarice” replacing good governance, warning that widespread public frustration could trigger serious unrest.
According to the opposition party, current political developments under the APC bear similarities to past events that led to violence, accusing the ruling party of orchestrating a “slide into elected totalitarianism.”
“When pushed to the wall, people have no other direction to go but forward, against the wall itself,” the statement noted.
The PDP also criticised the APC for what it described as hypocrisy, recalling that members of the ruling party had, while in opposition, made statements suggesting the country would be made ungovernable.
“As long as the targeted state-sponsored decimation of the opposition continues, the opposition parties will explore increasingly potent strategies, entirely within the ambit of the law, to prevent the enthronement of a one-party state,” it said.
The party further accused the APC of failing in governance and resorting to “inducement, intimidation and persecution” of opposition figures.
It concluded by warning that responsibility for any violence before or after the 2027 general elections would rest on the Federal Government, the APC, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and other institutions tasked with safeguarding democracy.
“The citizens know the aggressors from the victims, and the APC’s attempt to play victim has failed woefully,” the statement added.
