The Tanimu Turaki-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has welcomed a recent global assessment by the Human Rights Foundation which reportedly described Nigeria as a “fully authoritarian regime” under President Bola Tinubu.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, made the position known in a statement on Saturday, saying the assessment represented an international confirmation of what he described as Nigerians’ growing experience under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
According to Ememobong, the assessment, published on the foundation’s Tyranny Tracker platform, highlighted what he described as the erosion of democratic safeguards, institutional checks and balances, and fundamental freedoms in Nigeria.
He said Nigeria performed poorly across the key indicators used by the Human Rights Foundation in assessing authoritarianism, arguing that the findings pointed to what he described as the country’s gradual descent into authoritarian rule.
Ememobong said the criteria employed by the foundation were consistent with established theoretical frameworks for identifying authoritarian regimes, including rule by a dictator or a small group, weak institutional checks and balances, restrictions on freedom of expression, persecution of opposition figures and deficiencies in electoral processes.
He argued that several of these indicators were increasingly evident in Nigeria under the Tinubu administration.
The PDP spokesman particularly cited what he described as recent attacks by government officials and their supporters against the Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, the Catholic Church and Christianity in general.
He said such developments represented part of what he considered a shrinking civic and democratic space under the current administration.
“What did the cleric say that is not the lived experience of Nigerians, except, of course, the few who are isolated from reality and their paid human megaphones?” Ememobong asked.
The PDP spokesman also criticised the National Assembly, accusing lawmakers of failing to provide effective checks on the executive arm of government.
He questioned how, in his view, an administration could allegedly fail to implement the Appropriation Act for three consecutive years while still receiving commendation rather than condemnation from the legislature.
Ememobong further alleged that the National Assembly had disregarded constitutional provisions and its own standing rules during critical legislative proceedings, arguing that such actions had weakened its ability to exercise meaningful oversight over the executive.
Turning to the 2027 general elections, he expressed concern that the electoral process was allegedly being reduced to a mere formality rather than providing Nigerians with a genuine opportunity to freely determine their leaders through the ballot box.
He called on the Tinubu administration to take immediate measures to de-escalate what he described as mounting political tensions arising from the actions and pronouncements of government officials and their alleged proxies.
The PDP spokesman also urged the administration to end what he called the “continuous asphyxiation of the opposition”, alleging the weaponisation of security agencies against real and perceived political opponents, growing signs of partisanship by the electoral umpire and what he described as reckless political rhetoric by the President and his handlers.
He warned President Tinubu against any attempt to secure victory in the 2027 presidential election “at all costs”, arguing that such an approach could have consequences beyond the political contest itself.
“The President must realise that there are two contests embedded in the 2027 Presidential elections—the presidency and the country,” he said.
According to Ememobong, a credible outcome in 2027 would require a free, fair, transparent and peaceful electoral process, stressing that only such an election could guarantee victory both in the contest for the presidency and in the broader struggle to preserve the country’s democratic future.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding accountability from elected and appointed public officials at all levels, describing accountability as the “irreducible minimum” guaranteed by democratic governance.
The PDP’s statement comes amid heightened political activity ahead of the 2027 general elections, with opposition parties increasingly scrutinising the Federal Government’s policies, institutions and approach to political competition.
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