PDP Urges Tinubu To Match Guinea Bissau Democracy Gesture With Domestic Action

The Peoples Democratic Party has called on President Bola Tinubu to demonstrate the same commitment to democratic protection in Nigeria that he recently extended to Guinea Bissau’s opposition candidate, Fernando Dia Da Costa.

In a statement issued on Monday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the party referenced a press release by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb Yusuf Tuggar, and his Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirming that Tinubu granted asylum and protection to Da Costa after “imminent threats to his life” following the Guinea Bissau presidential election.

According to statement, the measure was taken to “safeguard the democratic aspirations of the people of Guinea Bissau” and to “reinforce Nigeria’s commitment to regional peace, stability, and conflict de-escalation in the sub-region”.

While acknowledging the gesture, the PDP said the President must now apply the same standards domestically. The party urged him to “check and curtail the activities of anti democratic forces within his cabinet and political machinery, who openly orchestrate, fund, and engineer crises in major opposition parties”.

The PDP said the Nigerian political environment is increasingly under strain, noting that “the political space is being constricted through coercion of elected officials to defect to the ruling party and the sponsorship of crises in opposition parties”.

It added that the democratic philosophy underpinning Nigeria’s intervention in Guinea Bissau should also guide Tinubu’s actions within Nigeria “to safeguard Nigeria’s electoral democracy from decline and prevent the slide toward a one party state”.

The party warned that the President “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 PDP urged Tinubu to act swiftly “in defence of democracy in Nigeria”, insisting that constitutional responsibility requires him to ensure the political space remains free, open, and competitive.

Faridah Abdulkadiri