CHRICED Raises Red Flag: “Opposition Shrinking… Democracy Under Siege Ahead of 2027”
Former Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has issued a thunderous warning to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), cautioning that the unrelenting wave of defections from opposition parties could push the party toward a catastrophic internal collapse.
Speaking at the prestigious Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe Annual Award Lecture on Sunday night at the NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja—where he was honoured as Most Outstanding Legislator and Advocate of National Unity—Ndume delivered a bold and unsettling assessment of the political storm sweeping across the country.
In a speech that gripped the hall with tension, Ndume openly dismissed many defectors as “political lightweights” with little value to add, accusing the APC of becoming dangerously “overloaded with mostly empty cargo.”
Gale of Defections Accelerates, Opposition in Disarray
Findings by The Guardian show that in the past year alone, the opposition has suffered debilitating losses. At least five governors—including those of Delta, Bayelsa, Enugu and Taraba—have dumped their parties for the APC, with Plateau’s governor reportedly warming up to join.
This political landslide, Ndume warned, is not a show of strength but a looming structural disaster.
> “When you overload a ship with empty cargo, it will eventually capsize,” he declared, drawing heavy murmurs from the audience.
The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) did not mince words as it reacted to the nationwide defections.
Addressing journalists in Abuja, CHRICED Executive Director, Dr. Ibrahim Zikirullahi, described the trend as a coordinated political ambush against Nigeria’s democratic stability.
He warned that the shrinking opposition ahead of the 2027 elections signals a direct attack on political pluralism, accusing defectors of betraying voters who entrusted them with mandates under different party platforms.
Zikirullahi further raised alarm over widespread allegations that financial inducements were used to facilitate many of the defections.
> “This signals complicity, not neutrality. Democracy cannot thrive where corruption is normalised,” he insisted.
Corruption Clouds Thickening Over the National Assembly
CHRICED also berated the National Assembly leadership for maintaining silence over reports that some lawmakers allegedly pay between N1 million and N3 million to present motions or bills.
The organisation said such revelations, if true, cast a long shadow over legislative integrity.
Worse still, the group referenced Ndume’s recent claim that presidential aides reportedly demand bribes before granting access to President Bola Tinubu—an allegation that deepens concerns about transparency at the highest levels of government.
A Nation at a Critical Crossroads
As the APC continues to swell with defectors, analysts warn that Nigeria’s political landscape is slipping into dangerous imbalance. Both Ndume and CHRICED agree on one thing: a democracy without a vibrant opposition is inching toward authoritarianism.
With 2027 on the horizon, the mass defections have sparked fresh fears that Nigeria may be drifting into a one-party state—an outcome critics say would endanger accountability, political competition, and the very soul of the republic.
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