The Peoples Democratic Party has called on President Bola Tinubu to demonstrate the same commitment to democratic protection inside Nigeria that he recently extended to an opposition presidential candidate in Guinea-Bissau.
The statement follows revelations by Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar and his media aide, Alkasim Abdulkadir, that Nigeria granted asylum and security protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa, the opposition candidate in Guinea-Bissau’s just-concluded presidential election. According to the ministry, the move was taken to shield Da Costa from imminent threats and to reinforce Nigeria’s role in safeguarding democratic stability within the West African sub-region.
While acknowledging the diplomatic gesture, the PDP said the President must mirror those principles domestically by curbing what it described as anti-democratic actors operating within his administration. The party accused elements in the ruling circle of instigating and financing internal crises across major opposition platforms and coercing elected officials into defecting to the governing party.
The PDP argued that although the President is not expected to bolster rival parties, he carries a constitutional responsibility to uphold an open, competitive political environment. The party warned that current pressures on the opposition threaten to constrict Nigeria’s democratic space and accelerate the drift toward a one-party system.
According to the statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the same philosophy that informed Nigeria’s intervention in Guinea-Bissau should guide the President’s governance at home. The PDP maintained that Tinubu cannot champion democracy abroad while tolerating practices that undermine it within Nigeria’s borders.
