There are fresh concerns over participation of opposition parties in general elections as two Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates stepped down from the race for the Federal Capital Territory elections.
Stakeholders say the pressure being mounted on opposition parties maybe an indication that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is not keen on slugging it out at the field with candidates of other parties.
This is more so as the withdrawal of the PDP candidates were done to favour APC candidates.
According to Daily Trust, the PDP candidate for Bwari Area Council, Julius Adamu, on Wednesday, stepped down for the APC candidate, Joshua Ishaku Musa and less than 24 hours later, his Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) counterpart, Zadna Dantani, followed suit.
Both candidates attributed their decisions to “fatherly advice” from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike.
The area council elections are billed to hold tomorrow in the six area councils.
The stakeholders who spoke on condition of anonymity said if the APC is sure of itself it would not go about coercing people to join their party or asking candidates of other parties to step down for them.
“You recall how they went after governors to join their parties and now what they’re doing is to coerce people to withdraw from elections because they know they can be defeated,” an observer stated.
Our correspondents recall that the FCT has for some years not been a turf of the APC as it has lost several elections within the territory and in the last area council elections, the PDP won in AMAC, Kuje, Kwali and Bwari while the APC won only two, Gwagwalada and Abaji. But over time, most of the PDP chairmen defected to the PDP with the exception of Bwari and Kuje.
Many say they couldn’t understand why the pressure is placed on the candidates to step down more so as there are reasons to believe that they did not do so out of their own volition but were coaxed into doing.
Some allege that the same pressure was put on an aspirant for the AMAC ticket, Mr. Haruna Audi to step down for a favoured candidate but he resisted the pressure until he was defeated at the Supreme Court.
A high-ranking member of the PDP in the FCT who does not want to be named said the external interference felt more like a threat than a negotiation.
“We understand they reached our Bwari candidate through a certain chairman and the candidate was allegedly promised certain inducements, including appointments,” the source claimed.
The chieftain further alleged that a similar method was used in AMAC to pressure Dantani into stepping down for Maikalangu.
However, he noted that attempts to use the same tactics in Gwagwalada, Abaji, Kwali, and Kuje failed, as those candidates maintained their positions as of the time of filing this report.
Some of the stakeholders even threatened to leave the party after the FCT polls, saying there was no need working for the party if their efforts could be thrown out overnight.
Our correspondent recall that the Supreme Court, on Monday, affirmed Mr. Joshua Ishaku as the lawful candidate of the APC for Bwari Area Council. Ishaku is seen as the candidate favoured by the FCT minister
Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike did not confirm if the candiates stepped down under pressure. He said, “Ask those who stepped down or did they complain to anyone?”
Political analysts view the actions of the PDP candidates as deliberate saying they carefully chose the timing so as not to allow room for other aspirants or parties to challenge their decisions.
Former director of voter education and publicity of INEC, described the withdrawals on the very eve of the FCT Area Council Elections as regrettable.
He said It is even more regrettable that they are taking place at the alleged direction of an official known to be proximate to the government at the centre.
“Above all, it gives us a foretaste of what to expect in 2027. If this ham-handed and clumsy abridgment of the democratic space can take place in the FCT, it is left to the imagination what will happen in our backwaters. It sends the message, rightly or wrongly, that ours is a counterfeit democracy and that even those who hold sway are diffident of their electoral prospects in 2027”.
He said It is saddening because it sets, yet another unseemly precedent not captured or provided for by our Electoral Laws.
“Assuming we are guided by Sections 31 & 34 of the Electoral Act, which come close, such a withdrawal ought to have been communicated to the Commission 90 days to the conduct of the election.
“Secondly, Section 34(1) provides that a candidate can only be replaced in the event of the death of a candidate. before the commencement of poll. Even in this instance, after the INEC Chairman shall have satisfied himself of of the fact of such a death, the Commission shall appoint some other convenient date for such an election within 14 days.”
“Beyond this yawning gap, it sets a bad precedent for our democracy. It denies the candidate his/her right to contest. It denies the voter his right of choice from different platforms/possibilities. It whittles at our fledgling democracy, which ought to promote and encourage contestation of ideas.”
Political analyst, Dr Kabir Mato, while reacting to the development said it is appalling that Nigerian politics has turned into such a low level. “It’s a clear indication of the fact that all is not well within the policy, because if the political system was working right, there would have been no reason for that.
“It’s something very regrettable. It’s something that we were unable to comprehend, and I think the best thing that we can do is to be able to stand firm against such, dramatisation of our political system.”
He said this is the first time such a thing would be happening in a big political party that has an equal stake in winning elections. I did not know that the PDP has degenerated to that level. I know it did happen several times with many other minor political parties in this country, but not with a major political party like the PDP.
“I think this is the greatest undoing to Nigerian electoral system, the Nigerian party politics, and to the general psyche of the Nigerian nation. The problem is that Nigerians only require a viable alternative, and if they don’t like the present government, they will change the government,” he stated.
Executive Director YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo said the candidates that withdrew may not have been serious about contesting in the first place.
“I don’t see a situation where someone who is determined, who knows their onions and who is coasting to victory will decide to abandon their own political aspiration for some sort of consideration. At the end of the day, it’s all politics.
He said as far as the law is concerned, the PDP has forfeited its chance as INEC will not reprint any ballot paper.
“ So anyone who votes for those particular candidates is wasting their votes because those votes will not be tallied with the votes of the candidates or the party that they seem to have endorsed or support. It will not count and it will not be added to the votes of the party that they seem to have endorsed. Those votes will belong to the PDP. They are not for the candidates. So what it technically means is that a PDP few days to the elections does not have a candidate,” he stated.
A political analyst, Chief Zakari Philip, said while lobbying is a hallmark of democracy, forcing candidates to go against the will of their parties is dangerous.
“Free and fair elections start with the nomination process. A situation where a candidate is coerced into joining or supporting an opposing party just hours before the election does not guarantee a fair contest,” Philip said. “How do you expect supporters who believe in a candidate’s ideology to react?”
Philip also noted that the candidate Wike is supporting in the APC for Bwari was not the initial choice of party leaders, but emerged following a Supreme Court ruling.
Echoing these concerns, political scientist Mr. Mathew Ayilara warned that electoral malpractice begins long before election day.
“The FCT election should be a litmus test for the general elections. A situation where a candidate is seemed to be coerced to step down for an opponent is a dangerous precedent for the country’s electoral process,” Ayilara warned.
When contacted, the National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Barr. Felix Morka, declined comments on the issue.
