The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to demonstrate the same commitment to democratic protection within Nigeria as he recently displayed in the case of Guinea-Bissau’s opposition presidential candidate, Fernando Dia Da Costa.
In a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP acknowledged reports attributed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, and his Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirming that Nigeria granted asylum and protection to Da Costa following alleged threats to his life after the Guinea-Bissau presidential election.
The party commended the intervention, describing it as a gesture aimed at safeguarding democracy in Guinea-Bissau and promoting peace and stability across the West African sub-region. However, it urged President Tinubu to uphold the same standards domestically.
According to the PDP, Nigeria’s democratic space is being constricted through the coercion of elected officials to defect to the ruling party and the alleged sponsorship of crises within major opposition parties. The party argued that while the President is not obligated to assist the opposition, he has a constitutional responsibility to ensure that the political environment remains free, open and competitive.
The PDP maintained that the principles that informed Nigeria’s intervention in Guinea-Bissau should also guide the President’s domestic actions, warning that failing to do so risks eroding Nigeria’s electoral democracy and enabling a drift toward a one-party state.
The statement urged the President to act decisively in defence of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, noting that he cannot champion democracy abroad while tolerating practices that undermine it at home.
